African Unification Front
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
May 31, 2005
THE AFRICAN UNION IS A FEDERAL REPUBLIC
In the continuing struggle over the survival and perfection of our national political life, it is important to acknowledge what has been accomplished. The very definition of the African Union is at stake in this struggle, especially in the face of media and bureaucratic inertia. By understanding the proper nature of the accomplishemnts of the Pan African struggle, we can prevent the wasteful pursuit of contraditory policies and creation of unnecessary institutions.
Below: African Parliament in Session
 The African Union (also known as the Union of African States) is a state of the type known as a federal republic. Gertrude Mongella is the president of the African Union. The AU is also known informally as the Union of African States. Both these names were suggested and crafted by Kwame Nkrumah, who led the struggle to unify Africa and to turn it into a single republic.
A federal republic is defined as a state which is both a federation and a republic. A federation is a state composed of a number of self-governing regions (often themselves referred to as 'states') united by a central, federal government. The state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty.
In a federation, unlike in a unitary state, the self-governing status of autonomous regions is constitutionally entrenched and cannot be revoked by a unilateral decision of the central government. The rights of the states in the African Union are entrenched in the Union Act.
 A republic is a state in which sovereignty, political power, and the mandate of the government derives from the people that belong in that state. Republic can also refer to a form of government that is based on civic virtue, liberty, and non-arbitrary rule. Being a republic also implies sovereignty, so that in order for the state to be ruled by the people it cannot be controlled by a foreign power.
In most republics the head of state is termed president. In republics that are also democracies the head of state is appointed as the result of an election. This election can be indirect: a parliament is elected by the people, and this parliament then elects the head of state.
In the AU republic the Pan African Parliament elects the president for a term of five years. The PAP is the embodiment of Africa's sovereignty and the highest representative government of the African Union. The Pan African Parliament is the legislative and oversight branch of the federal government of the African Union. The PAP is a unicameral legislature. The House has 265 members.
President is a common title held by the head of state of a republic. The term itself means one who presides, who sits in leadership (from Latin prae- "before" + sedere "to sit"). It refers to an official with executive powers. In states with a Presidential system of government, the President is also the head of government, as well as the head of state.
Countries with a presidential system include the United States of America where the President is indirectly elected by the U.S. Electoral College made up of electors chosen by voters in the presidential election.
The AU is not modeled on the EU, but is based on historic African institutions, and also incorporates some of the more positive elements of organization of the USA, the Soviet Union, China, India, and other large federations that were established by the mid 1950s, when Nkrumah emerged as Africa's leading visionary. At that time the EU did not exist.
END
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
printable version
