Held in Lilongwe, Malawi, the conference was officially opened by that country’s president, Ngwazi Professor Bingu Wa Mutharika.

In one of its plenary sessions,the conference, attended by delegates from over 19 African countries, unanimously elected Seychelles as the new chairperson of the Standing Committee.
Seychelles will therefore host the next conference in 2013.

Held every two years, the conference brings together Speakers and Presiding Officers of the African region, and provides an exclusive forum whereby the delegates can discuss pertinent issues and share experiences regarding the running of parliaments.

Among the topics discussed was ‘The case for complementary roles of government and the opposition in African parliaments as a sustainable way of fostering national unity and development’.

Dr. Herminie gave a presentation in which he expounded the necessity of strengthening democratic institutions which will permit the ruling party and the opposition to operate on a more level playing field.

“In the pursuit of cultivating and promoting national unity and development, the government and the opposition must also seek to establish democratically acceptable norms and practices, and strengthen the relevant institutions thus promoting a culture of democracy,” he said.

The Speaker further warned against what he termed a ‘crisis of expectations’ by calling for the inculcation within the culture of democracy, proper acceptance of election results when all the prerequisites for credible elections are in place.

“Whilst we would have wished that the mere existence of such strong institutions would ensure post election civility, it remains a fact that to a large extent the level of maturity of politicians plays the decisive role in ensuring stability. Too often, the major cause of post election violence is the dispute of election results which in turn is a result of what has lately been termed a ‘crisis of expectations’,” Dr Herminie said.

The Speaker affirmed that the status quo of having a ruling party and an opposition need not change and he argued against the formation of a government of national unity.

“I am of the view that the survival of any democracy depends to a large extent on a responsible government and a credible opposition. Only a divergence of views within a civilised and tolerant democratic framework can propel any society forward towards greater development. We must therefore reject the notion of a government of national unity as an option for promoting unity and stability in Africa,” the Speaker said.

He observed that, within a government of national unity, the power arrangement normally serve no meaningful purpose other than creating positions of power to placate and reward warring political opponents.

Dr. Herminie said that “such a government can hardly deliver on long-term peace and development and usually unravels with the slightest hurdles.”

The conference also discussed topics such as, ‘The dilemma of a Speaker retaining a Constituency seat after being elected’ and ‘The challenge for meeting the information needs of the Members of Parliament in Africa.’

Upon taking over chairmanship of the Standing Committee of the conference, Dr. Herminie re-affirmed Seychelles’ commitment to hold the 14th conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Africa Region in 2013.