Eala elections reflect a bad pattern

Across East Africa, the election of new members of the regional parliament, the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala), has been hitting the headlines, mostly because the processes were mired by controversies.

This is all happening to an integral part of the East African Community (EAC), a body that is supposed to be “people-based”. As it now stands, to the majority of ordinary citizens in the EAC, the legislative organ is fast becoming irrelevant, and perhaps just another expensive way of keeping politicians who miss out on local posts, those waiting for a return to local politics.

EAC partner states have different rules in finding Eala MPs. The general rules as per Article 50 (1) of the Treaty establishing the EAC, require that those elected should be of different opinions; gender has to be considered, as well as other special groups in the partner states. And of course, it’s only citizens of a partner state who are eligible to be elected as members of the National Assembly in that country. There are other qualifications.

However, the problem is rooted in the processes adopted by most of these countries, which completely leave out the people who are supposedly the pillar of the Community.

Despite the variations across the partner states in the rules and methods of getting these representatives to Arusha, there are many similarities which keep the people out of the process. The ruling parties or political alliances dominate the process in all countries and in the case of Tanzania managed to pick members from the opposition who are friendly to the ruling party or those whose ability to protect the interests of the country and the region is questionable.

In all countries as well, the current process which bypasses the people and straight to parliaments across the political capitals in partner states maintains patronage system that does nothing for those who are left out of the local political process.

Of all the partner states only Rwanda; a country considered by many in the region to be “a dictatorship” had the most element of the people’s participation in the process of electing its members to the Eala as the process of electing those who do not belong to political parties but come from special groups like those with disabilities, women and youth starts at the district levels.

By completely keeping the people out of the process of electing Eala MPs, it is no wonder that chaos and controversies were the order of the day where there were claims of nepotism, favoritism and even a party failing to agree on names to be sent to parliament to get its representatives to Arusha.

For most of its existence, few in the region even follow the proceedings of the Eala, and in the times it has managed to make headlines it has been for all the wrong reasons like in 2014 where in its two sessions it failed to accomplish anything but the MPs took their pay nonetheless.

No wonder we hardly remember any names of these representatives in Arusha.

The Treaty has to be changed and the voting rights have to belong to the people and not their elected representatives across capitals in the EAC to give this body a chance of performing its functions which are much like those of their local counterparts.

People have to vote directly for EALA members without being encumbered by the political constraints that have locked so many out of the political processes like the requirement of being a member of a political party in some of these countries.

The EAC is going through a period of confusion with so many forces pulling in opposite directions. Under such circumstances it is difficult to see how its legislative organ can have an impact on the affairs of the region.

The people have to be the practical pillar of the “community” and not only being paid lip service with their politicians.

Anything less and the current trend where the EAC and the Eala are increasingly becoming irrelevant will continue, and with all the crises the sub-regional body is facing coupled with the old demons which led to its demise in 1977 the future is anything but rosy.