Summit Endorses Inaugural African Political Parties Initiative Bureau Leadership 

Addis Ababa, November 7, 2026 (ENA)— Delegates of the Second African Political Parties Summit in Addis Ababa have endorsed the inaugural African Political Parties Initiative (APPI) Bureau Leadership for a three-year term today.

The bureau is established to strengthen political cooperation, promote democratic governance and support the continent’s political and economic transformation. 

The incoming leadership was formally introduced during the Second African Political Parties Summit in Addis Ababa.

Ghana’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, was endorsed as Chairperson of the APPI Bureau, with regional vice-chairpersons and institutional representatives joining the leadership from across the continent.

The regional leadership represents political parties from Algeria, Mauritania, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Tanzania, Uganda, Lesotho and Namibia.

Among the appointed regional representatives are also Professor Benmebarek Abdelkrim of Algeria’s National Liberation Front, Luther Tarpeh of Liberia’s Unity Party, Augustin Kabuya of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Union for Democracy and Social Progress, Asha-Rose Migiro of Tanzania’s Chama Cha Mapinduzi, and Sophia Shaningwa of Namibia’s SWAPO Party.

The institutional leadership includes Benedicta Lasi of the Africa Governance Centre (AGC) as Institutional Co-Chair, alongside Professor Nelson Oppong, Executive Director of the Centre, and Ethiopia’s Bikila Hurisa as APPI Executive Secretary.

Professor Modeste Bahati Lukwebo of the Democratic Republic of Congo was also included in the leadership arrangements as Chairperson of the Conference of African Political Parties and Political Institutions (CAPPSI), representing the initiative’s political party education and development component.

The new leadership is expected to strengthen institutional capacity among political parties, encourage experience-sharing and promote inclusive political leadership, while enhancing their contribution to Africa’s governance and development agenda.

The African Political Parties Initiative has been established to support reflection, engagement, and cooperation among political actors across the continent as they confront these institutional questions.

Operating under the Africa Governance Center, the initiative brings together leaders of political parties, policymakers, and governance practitioners to engage in constructive conversations on the evolving role of political parties in Africa's democratic systems and economic transformation.