Tanzania Speaker Tulia Ackson elected president of global Parliamentary Union

Dar es Salaam. The Speaker of the Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr Tulia Ackson, has been elected president of the global Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) today, October 27, 2023.

Delegates to the 147th IPU Congress held in Luanda, Angola, elected Dr Tulia the 31st president of the IPU with 172 votes.

303 votes were cast, and Dr Tulia only needed at least half of all the votes, amounting to 152 votes, to emerge as the winner.

The results of the ballot were as follows:

Mrs Adji Diarra Mergane Kanouté (Senegal) received 52 votes.

Mrs Catherine Gotani Hara (Malawi) received 61 votes.

Mrs Marwa Abdibashir Hagi (Somalia) received 11 votes.

Mrs Tulia Ackson (United Republic of Tanzania) received 172 votes.

Dr Tulia Ackson replaces Duarte Pacheco from Portugal, who was elected in 2020 following the first online election due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For 25 years, the IPU presidency has been dominated by parliamentarians from Egypt, Spain, India, Italy, Namibia, Morocco, Bangladesh, Mexico, and Portugal.

As the President of the IPU, Dr Tulia Ackson assumes the role of the political leader of the institution.

In this capacity, she will preside over all the sessions of the IPU and represent the organisation at international events. 

Her presidency is set for a three-year term, and she must maintain her status as a member of parliament throughout this tenure.

The IPU held its meeting in Luanda from October 23 to October 27.