Emilia Monjowa Lifaka, deputy speaker of national assembly of Cameroon, has been elected chairperson of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

The tenure of incumbent Chairman Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury is going to end this year.

Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, speaker of Jatiya Sangsad, was the first Bangladeshi elected CPA chairman in 2014.

CPA member countries cast their votes for the position of its news chairperson in an election at the general assembly of the 63rd CPC.

Two other candidates for the position were -- Shirley M Osborne MLA, speaker of the Montserrat Legislative Assembly; and Niki Rattle, speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament for the position.

The polls started around 11:00am at the Bangabandhu International Convention Center (BICC) and continued for an hour. 

CPA Secretary General Akbar Khan conducted the elections.

The eight-day annual conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) began on November 1 with more than 550 delegates from 144 national and provincial parliaments of 44 countries. The conference ends tomorrow. The CPA has 52 members.