African Unification Front
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February 7, 2006
[First posted February 7, 2005]
The Purpose of the AUF African Parliamentary Caucus
By Dan Kashagama, AUF General Secretary
 While recognizing that Parliamentary legality (also commonly known as "parliamentary privilege") entitles members of the PAP to debate, make up their minds independently, and vote their conscience in parliament, it is sometimes necessary to have a Caucus that is disciplined and united in its voting record, and also robust in the pursuit of policy coherence, consistency and continuity. The threat for MPs who break party discipline may include censure by party members, or even expulsion from the party.
AUF members may belong to different local and state parties, but support the AUF at the All-Union federal level. This means that MPs from different state parties, can and do belong to the AUF, and can serve together in the PAP as AUF members. Those MPs who are having concerns about belonging to two parties at once need not worry. The situation in which the first Pan African Parliament finds itself is not unique. Around the world, a person may belong to a provincial party and to a different federal party at the same time. They are not competing in the same election, and the scope of issues is different. So sign up with the AUF, and help build a strong PAP Caucus.
Being part of a Parliamentary Caucus allows elected party members to pool resources for research, to collectively consider details in legislation and how the executive has carried out the orders of parliament, and to allow members to collectively prepare before they take part in a debate session. For example, each caucus member may be assigned to present about separate issues, in order to avoid redundancy or repetition and waste of debating time during session. The Caucus is important especially when voting discipline is required…for example when the proposed legislation is very technical, voluminous, or counterproductive.
Sometimes legislative drives are fragmented and incremental and yet have effects over a long period, such that it is hard to keep track over the course of several parliaments. In such cases it is important then for a parliamentary caucus to pass on skills from departing members to incoming members, and to maintain continuity in controlling a process that may last several decades. For example parliaments are always under pressure to introduce marginal government legislation that may gradually and imperceptibly erode the independence of parliament. To fight such underhanded and almost invisible moves, takes a disciplined caucus that trains MPs to recognize to see the danger and to respond vigorously and decisively to the slightest erosion of Parliamentary legality.
Sometimes marginal and seemingly accidental, unimportant or innocuous-sounding resolutions are designed as part of an overarching strategy with far-reaching negative long-term consequences, so that maintaining a disciplined caucus allows individual MPs to vote systematically, in order to defeat a group that may pose a threat in the long term, even if some of their current proposals seem harmless. In the Pan African Parliament, the dangers posed by neocolonial tendencies are great, and so it is important for AUF supporters to be part of a caucus that is committed to Pan African principles, and knows how to respond intelligently to ill-defined threats.
The caucus is not meant to undermine or circumvent parliamentary democracy. But like any other process, caucuses can be misused to destroy parliamentary effectiveness. So it is important to know when to vote as a group, and when to allow for free votes, when to support parliamentary solidarity, and when to dissent if parliament is drifting. It takes a lot of skill and experience to organize an effective, robust, highly motivated caucus that can maintain discipline over the course of five years (the duration of a Parliament). It also demands a lot of disciplined and involved support by un-elected party members outside of the PAP, to help the caucus maintain morale and discipline.
Sometimes the members of the AUF who are not serving in parliament can help in practical ways, such as preparing reports, providing transport for caucus members and supporters during elections if necessary, organizing peaceful demonstrations, and such other services, in order to enable caucus members to attend and participate more fully in debates, both in parliament and outside parliament. The AUF will continue to generate resources such as research, disciplined volunteer staffs, and publicity, in order to support Pan African legislative efforts.
The AUF policy formulation process has to produce draft legislation, decide the timing of its introduction, and organize events to generate public and media awareness about the issues at stake. Support outside of parliament demonstrates party resolve, and has the added benefit of sometimes preempting legislation (causing major policy changes suggested by draft legislation even before its debated in parliament). And finally of course, PAP resolutions are useless if they cannot be implemented. It is up to the citizens, but especially AUF members to ensure that the policies voted on by parliament are implemented correctly by government and institutional authorities.
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