It has never really been explained just why the All Party Conference was discontinued.
But it was a grave mistake of judgment to have done so.
Because we do not have the reasons as to why or who abolished it, we shall not make any attempt to blame anyone.
Rather, we shall point out what it is that we are missing as a nation as a result of the unfortunate decision to discontinue it.
We also shall attempt to make suggestions on how the Conference could be restructured, if and when it is reconvened.
Though not given enough credit for it, the All Party Conference had a way of bringing political parties together to iron out issues amongst themselves before they moved to such national and more public platforms like parliament, council, etc. This had a net effect of reducing political polarity.
The Conference had a way of narrowing down the gap between political parties ÔÇô and this applied to between the ruling party and opposition as well as between opposition parties. In as far as it scaled down areas of contention and resolving disputes, it is not an exaggeration to say the All Party Conference provided a nation building platform.
Because the Conference was held in an atmosphere that did not allow grandstanding and or political point scoring, there was always a way of understanding each other’s position and where each of the participants was coming from without having to concede defeat and or sticking to hard-line positions for the sake of pleasing the followers.
In our view, the All Party Conference enriched and encouraged the spirit of multi-partysm, while also making sure that the views of those smaller parties that may not enjoy representation at parliament were heard.
The ongoing debate of Constitutional reform is one such area that could be discussed first in-house before in such a forum like All Party Conference before it is discussed in parliament where attention seeking and grandstanding are the order of the day. Another matter that could be debated at the Conference may be the one of electoral reform.
Public forums like parliament are well and good. They are a part of our tradition as enshrined in our laws. But it goes without saying that they have their shortcomings and need to be complimented and supplemented by those instruments that are not necessarily embodied in our laws.
For example, while it is the highest law making organ, the embodiment of our participatory and representative democracy, parliament is at the same time not the most ideal way of finding each other, so to speak. Parliamentary rules allow for an arrangement where the winner takes it all.
It discards the minority’s views, unless at the grace and favour of the majority. As a forum, parliament allows for very little deal-making, spurns asking and or giving quarters.
But all those are possible at the All Party Conference.
