The National Assembly of Seychelles was represented at the Westminster Seminar on Effective Parliaments held in the UK from 13th to 17th March 2023, by Hon. Sylvanne Lemiel, Hon. Michel Roucou and the Clerk to the National Assembly Mrs. Tania Isaac.
The five-day forum gathered relatively new Parliamentarians and Clerks from the Commonwealth to explore parliamentary democracy, practices, and procedures as well as providing a space to share their experiences and challenges commonly faced within the scope of their parliamentary work.
The topics covered by Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) UK included communication and parliamentary leadership, accountability, representation, separation of powers, goal setting, the digital space and scrutiny. These were delivered by experienced Parliamentarians and subject matter experts from across the Commonwealth. Some of these topics were specific for Parliamentarians and Clerks, which included visits to UK MPs in their constituencies. Both groups had the opportunity to watch the Prime Minister’s Questions live, and have a conversation with the Right Hon. David Lammy, who is the elected MP for Tottenham and Shadow Foreign Secretary of the House of Commons.
At this 71st year of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the highlight was the Commonwealth Day Celebrations, which comprised of a flag raising ceremony at the UK Parliament and the Commonwealth Service in the Westminster Abbey. This was done in the presence of the new Head of the Commonwealth, His Majesty King Charles III and high-level dignitaries from the Commonwealth, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism Mr. Sylvestre Radegonde, and the Ag. Seychelles High Commissioner in UK Ms. Patsy Moustache.
