the budget of the Community and make recommendations thereon prior to its approval by the Assembly of the African Union. Work towards the harmonisation or co-ordination of the laws of the Member States. Make recommendations aimed at contributing to the attainment of the objectives of the OAU/AEC and draw attention to the challenges facing the integration process in Africa as well as the strategies for dealing with them. Request officials of the OAU/AEC to attend its sessions, produce documents or assist in the discharge of its duties. Promote the programmes and objectives of the OAU/AEC, in the constituencies of the Member States. Promote the co-ordination and Harmonization of policies, measures, programmes and activities of the Regional Economic Communities and the parliamentary fora of Africa. Adopt its Rules of Procedure, elect its own President and propose to the Council and the Assembly the size and nature of the support staff of the Pan-African Parliament. Perform such other functions as it deems appropriate to achieve the objectives set out in Article 3 of the Protocol. In one of its first actions the Pan African Parliament agreed to send a fact-finding mission to the Darfur region of Sudan. Challenges Elections General Elections While the goal of the Pan-African Parliament is to hold free and fair elections, there are many factors that limit elections from meeting these qualifications. Delegates are elected by their respective member states, and malpractice in elections such as intimidation of the electorate and the rigging of the election results are not uncommon in Africa. In some Member States this takes the form of Electoral Commissions colluding with political leaders and publish inauthentic results. There is only so much that the Pan-African Parliament can do to ensure that elections are being conducted in a manner that creates a truly democratic environment in the Parliament, and thus they are limited by their member states in accomplishing this goal. 2021 Bureau Elections When Roger Nkodo Dang's latest three-year term ended in may of 2021, the Pan-African Parliament met to elect a new president and vice-presidents. The meeting proved to be unfruitful as the constituencies from western and central Africa did not come to a consensus on who would lead the Bureau. There were even physical altercations between lawmakers and members of the parliament, with some people even grabbing the ballot box itself. As such, the meeting adjourned with an unclear understanding of who