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Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda has today hailed Zimbabwe’s delegation to the Pan African Parliament for joining their colleagues in South Africa to assert the rights of the Southern African region on the need to rotate the presidency of the continental body.

It was because of the aggression of the Zimbabwean delegation and their colleagues in the Southern and Northern African region that the electoral process for the presidency were suspended to allow the African Union, which is the parent body of the PAP, to address sticking issues, said Adv Mudenda.

Countries from the Southern region had put forward Council of Chiefs president Chief Fortune Charumbira as their candidate for the presidency.

Adv Mudenda said this in the National Assembly this afternoon responding to Mashonaland East Proportional Representative MP Cde Tatenda Mavetera (Zanu PF) who rose to commend the role played by the legislators from the Southern Region.

At the centre of the dispute is the procedure to adopt in electing the presidency of the PAP.

Countries from Southern and Northern African regions were arguing that there was need to rotate while those from Western, Eastern and Central Africa, who have been holding the presidency since the inception of PAP argued that the principle of rotation should only be applied after member countries adopt the Malabo Protocol.

The Malabo Protocol among other issues provides the need for rotation.