By TWV Reporter
Kenya’s bicameral Parliament has been ranked third in Africa in the Africa Parliamentary Monitoring Organisations Network (APMON)’s second edition of the Africa Open Parliament Index (OPI).
The 2025 OPI provides a comprehensive assessment of 33 African national parliaments, measuring their performance across three key dimensions of legislative openness: transparency, civic participation, and public accountability.
According to the rankings, the Parliament of South Africa was rated the most open in Southern Africa, followed by the Parliament of Ghana, which led in West Africa. Kenya’s Parliament emerged as the most open in East Africa.
The bicameral Parliament of South Africa scored an overall 79.69 per cent, followed by the unicameral Parliament of Ghana in second place with 77.60 per cent. Kenya’s bicameral Parliament ranked third with 73.96 per cent.
At the bottom of the index were the Parliaments of Comoros (31st with 29.69 per cent), South Sudan (32nd with 28.65 per cent), and Guinea-Bissau (33rd with 28.13 per cent).
The Index was launched during a virtual event held in Accra, Ghana, on 1 October. The event brought together civil society organisations, development partners, lawmakers, and members of the media from across the continent.
The process was a collaborative effort involving partners that coordinate regional and national networks of parliamentary monitoring organisations across Eastern, Southern, and West Africa.
Speaking at the launch, APMON Secretary General Sammy Obeng underscored the growing importance of openness in strengthening democratic governance. “The OPI is not just a ranking – it is a roadmap. It challenges parliaments to open up their work, engage citizens meaningfully, and demonstrate accountability. The 2025 edition shows encouraging progress in many countries, but also highlights areas where urgent reforms are needed.”
The event also featured a panel discussion with civil society leaders who reflected on the findings and shared strategies for co-creating reforms to make African parliaments more open, responsive, and citizen-centred.
APMON and its partners have called on governments, parliaments, and development actors to work together to implement evidence-based reforms inspired by the index.
