Lunguzi hails UK parliament: urges Malawi to emulate

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Juliana needs to retain her seat.

Dedza East lawmaker Juliana Lunguzi has hailed the informal setup in the British Parliament saying it leads to in-depth debates when members are deliberating issues of national importance.

Lunguzi had the opportunity to observe deliberations in the UK Parliament after attending International summit of politicians against violence of female politicians hosted by UK political parties from 19 -20 March, 2018.

Juliana-Lunguzi
Lunguzi: Our friends are quite ahead.

According to Lunguzi, in the UK Parliament, legislators are allowed more time to speak on issues and are not told to ask a limited number of supplementary questions hence creating an informal set up which allows in-depth debate on issues.She added that Members of Parliament in UK are also well informed on issues being debated in the house.

“So many learning points. Our friends are quite ahead but one thing I admired was the available staff for each Member of Parliament and the amount of time they dedicate to research.

“One thing did stand out, whenever there is a hot issue on the floor there is in-depth research done and materials ready for members to use in the chamber during debate,” Lunguzi said.

During her visit to UK Parliament, Lunguzi observed UK MPs asking questions to Prime Minister Theresa and she also met Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

At the summit Lunguzi attended, over 50 speakers including party leaders, ministers and experts from UN women, Amnesty International, the National Democratic Institute and CARE International discussed the measures to combat violence and intimidation against politically active women.