APMON Launches 2025 Africa Open Parliament Index, Urges Reforms To Strengthen Legislative Openness

By Amos Harris

The Africa Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations Network (APMON) has officially launched the second edition of the Africa Open Parliament Index (OPI), spotlighting both achievements and persistent gaps in legislative openness across the continent.

The virtual launch brought together lawmakers, civil society organizations, development partners, and media practitioners from across Africa to review the critical state of parliamentary transparency, civic participation, and accountability.

According to APMON, the 2025 OPI assessed 33 African national parliaments across three core dimensions: transparency, civic participation, and public accountability.

Speaking during the ceremony, Sammy Obeng, Secretary General of APMON, emphasized that the Index serves as more than just a ranking exercise.

“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,” he said. “The 2025 edition shows encouraging progress in many countries but also highlights areas where urgent reforms are needed.”

The 2025 OPI identified South Africa as the most open parliament overall, scoring highest in Southern Africa. Ghana led the rankings for West Africa, while Kenya was named East Africa’s frontrunner.

The bottom of the ranking highlighted parliaments in Comoros, South Sudan, and Guinea-Bissau as those most in need of comprehensive openness reforms.

APMON noted that the Index will continue to serve as both a benchmark and advocacy tool, urging African legislatures to adopt stronger measures to promote openness, deepen citizen engagement, and ultimately build public trust in democratic governance.