Accra, May 04, GNA – The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) has launched a new Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year Award.
The award is part of the Association’s mission to strengthen parliamentary democracy through the promotion of good governance and sharing best practices
A statement issued by the Public Affairs Department of the Office of Parliament said the awards would be opened to nominees who were current parliamentarians across the Commonwealth with a main Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year Award.
There will also be awards for Parliamentary Equality and Diversity Award; New Parliamentarian Award; and Parliamentarian Lifetime Achievement Award.
The statement said the awards would aim to recognise and highlight inspirational and active Parliamentarians for excelling in their field and the CPA would share these case studies from amongst its membership with a wider audience.
It noted that the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s unique membership includes national, state, provincial and territorial Legislatures and the awards will be opened to Members of the CPA’s over 180 Parliaments.
Mr Stephen Twigg, the CPA Secretary-General, said: “The new Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year Awards aligns with our strategic objective of promoting the values of the Commonwealth, parliamentary democracy and sustainable development to a wide audience.”
“Through these annual awards, the CPA will recognise and highlight the invaluable contributions that Parliamentarians are making to their local communities and both nationally and internationally within the Commonwealth.”
The statement said the awards were open to anyone to nominate a Member of Parliament and full entry criteria and nomination forms could be found at www.cpahq.org.
It said the closing date for the 2022 awards would be 23 June 2022.
It said the first award recipients would be announced at the forthcoming 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Halifax, Canada in August 2022.
“Nominees should be sitting Members of Parliament in a Commonwealth Legislature or have been a sitting Member of Parliament in a Commonwealth Legislature in the award period.”
The statement said the award could be made posthumously.
GNA