Affirmative Repositioning (AR) party leader Professor Job Amupanda tabled a motion in the National Assembly to establish a Political Consultation and Consensus-Building Forum as a political body to deal with matters that cannot adequately be handled by committees or the Chief Whips' Forum.
Tabling the motion, Professor Amupanda said the principle of consensus should not be viewed as weakness, surrender or capitulation.
Rather, it should reflect a mature understanding of the political landscape and the balance of forces, enabling positive outcomes through negotiation and cooperation.
The current structures, he said, such as the Chief Whips' Forum, have proven inadequate for addressing key political matters.
He added that they were designed primarily for administrative and programme-related issues, and their decisions are often ignored or contested.
"There is no dedicated platform outside the chamber where the Speaker, the Prime Minister as a leader of government business, the leader of the Official Opposition and all party leaders can collectively engage on the overarching political affairs of the assembly. The Speaker has repeatedly called for a different forum to discuss political matters, and the President, during the State of the Nation address, acknowledged the need for engagement outside the chamber, stating negotiation and conduct are not conducted in the chamber. That is not an answer. In their variety, that tone in quoting the president is not accepting the important statement. In their variety, members of Parliament have; members of Parliament express grave consent with the state of affairs of the National Assembly and the agent's need for a mechanism to resolve this political impasse."
The motion proposes that the forum comprise the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister as Leader of Government Business, the Leader of the Official Opposition and the leaders of all political parties represented in the National Assembly.
Amupanda urged the house to treat the motion with the urgency required.