Caucuses
Five regional caucuses, and the caucuses the Parliament has established to deal with questions of common interest.
Regional caucuses
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Central Caucus
Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Sao Tome and Principe
10 member states -
Eastern Caucus
Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania
14 member states -
Northern Caucus
Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sahrawi Republic, Tunisia
7 member states -
Southern Caucus
Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia, Zimbabwe
9 member states -
Western Caucus
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
15 member states
Thematic caucuses
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Women’s Caucus
Brings together women Members across all delegations to advance gender equality and women’s representation in the Parliament’s work.
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Caucus on Youth
Represents the continent’s youth agenda within the Parliament, championing policies on youth employment, education and participation.
How Caucuses Work
The Rules of Procedure provide for each of the five geographical regions of the Union to form a regional caucus composed of its members. The Rules also allow other caucuses to be established to deal with issues of common interest as the Parliament deems necessary, and under that provision the Parliament has established the Women’s Caucus and the Caucus on Youth.
Each caucus has a bureau of its own, comprising a chairperson, a deputy chairperson and a rapporteur.
What a Regional Caucus Does
The regional caucuses are established by Rule 83 of the Rules of Procedure and consist of all the members from that region. Their principal function is to select names from among their own members for:
- Nomination for the election of the President or the Vice-Presidents of the Parliament.
- Membership of the permanent committees.
- Participation in other parliamentary bodies or proceedings.
- Any other function assigned to the caucus by the Bureau, by the Committee on Rules, Privileges and Discipline, or by a resolution of Parliament.
The chairperson of a regional caucus provides the Bureau, or whichever authority is appropriate, with the lists of names and the other information the caucus decides to send.