The Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Rt. Hon Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has been elected as the new President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association International (CPA).
Bagbin who already served as the vice President of CPA was unanimously elected during the 65th Commonwealth Parliaments Conference (CPC) hosted by Canada in Halifax.
As President of the CPA, Ghana has been given the opportunity to host the 66th Conference of the CPA in Accra from the 30th of September to the 7th of October 2023.
The election of Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin as President of the CPA makes him the head of the CPA and he will preside over the next CPC in Ghana while also serving as the Chair of the Elections Committee of the Association. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Association among other roles and duties constitutionally bestowed on him.
At this conference, Ghana had a double do. The Majority Leader, Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was also elected the Vice Chairman of the Association. By this election, he holds the second most important position of the Executive Committee and the Coordinating Committee of the Association.
He thus becomes the Deputy Spokesperson of the CPA and will assist the Chairman of the Association, Hon. Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP, Member of the House of Commons, UK, in providing leadership for the running of the Executive Committee of the Association.
Major issues that were discussed at the annual conference included amendments to the Constitution of the Association to make Parliaments in the Commonwealth more relevant, accessible, technologically savvy, gender sensitive, balanced, and inclusive of the youth, and the marginalized, especially persons with disabilities.
