Members of parliament from over 200 commonwealth countries have expressed their determination to remain committed to the attainment of the post 2015 Agenda.

This was one of the outcomes of the just ended 60th Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentarian Association in Yaounde.

The Yaounde meeting was holding under the theme “Repositioning the Commonwealth for the post-2015 Development Agenda” brought together some 607 delegates, with new Post 2015 MDG outlet setup to ease MDG objectives attainment.

It also witnessed the participation of the delegates from all 9 regions of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association-CPA despite fears and concerns over insecurity (Boko Haram) and Ebola.

Opening the conference, CPA Vice Patron and President of Cameroon, H.E. Paul Biya challenged MPs to think of a way forward for the MDGs and how the legislatures of Commonwealth countries can best achieves the set goals.

The message of HM Queen Elizabeth the II, CPA Patron and Head of the Commonwealth, read by British High Commissioner to Cameroon, H.E. Brian Olley, echoed the calls made earlier by the both President Biya and the Head of the Interparliamentary Union, Martin Chugong.

The seven day sessions – packed conference witnessed the debates on the need for more women in parliament in the Commonwealth, the enhancement of the role of legislators in the up keep of peace and diversity within the Commonwealth, amongst others.

One of the outcomes of the conference so far was the putting in place by the CPA of a post 2015 outlet code named the “Sustainable Development Goals” (STGs) as a benchmark to assist member countries continue with their MDGs attainment efforts.

New Executives elected Meanwhile, the General Assembly meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association-CPA that took place on the October 9 at the Yaounde Conference Centre had as main objective the election of a new Chair person of the CPA as well as the elections of a new executive committee.

The meeting which took place behind closed resulted in the election of the Rt.Hon. Shirin-Sharmin-Chowdhurryas the new Chair of the CPA’s Executive Committee.

The Rt.Hon. Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has become the first Bangladeshi to be elected as the chairperson of the executive committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association that promotes parliamentary democracy in the Commonwealth.

Rt. Hon. Shirin-Sharmin-Chowdhurry who is the current and the first woman Speaker of Jatiyo Sangshad- the Bangladesh Parliament, since April 2013, was elected the chairperson of the 35-member executive committee, defeating the lone candidate from Cayman Islands Julianna O’Connor-Connolly, the speaker of the British-ruled small state, by 70 votes to 67.

She will be replacing the Rt. Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst,MP, a member of the United Kingdom’s House of Commons who was elected as the Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee in a General Assembly held in London on the 27th of July during the 57th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference.

Rt. Hon. Shirin-Sharmin-Chowdhurry will hold the post of CPA Executive Committee Chairperson for next three years.

Pakistan to host 2015 conference In a related development, Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq was elected as CPA president for year 2014-2015.

More than 200 parliamentarians from 53 countries of the Commonwealth unanimously picked Pakistan as the venue of its 61st conference at the concluding plenary of the 60th Commonwealth Parliamentary Assembly (CPA) in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Ayaz Sadiq thanked the delegates for their “overwhelming support to the Pakistani proposal and assured the conference of Pakistan’s Parliament’s best efforts to make the 2015 Conference a success.

In his speech, the speaker said that the holding of the 61st Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Pakistan would be “yet another great boost for the democratic forces of Pakistan as it will be a manifestation of your combined confidence in our democracy and your unwavering support to our system”.

“The developing democracy in Pakistan stands at a defining moment in history. The year 2013 saw the first peaceful democratic transition of power from one elected government to the other under a complete civilian rule in Pakistan. It was certainly a historic landmark.”

Sadiq informed the participants of the conference that the overwhelming success of Pakistan’s military offensive in the country’s tribal areas to root out the menace of terrorism has been widely appreciated by the international community.