African Union leaders fail to elect commission head

Deutsche Welle, 30 January 1012 

Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma wanted to
see an AU that is a 'formidable force'

A bid by South Africa to propel a woman to the upper reaches of African decision-making ran aground on Monday. The election for the head of the African Union Commission yielded no outright winner.

The vote by African leaders for the head of their bloc's influential executive ended in deadlock on Monday between Gabon's Jean Ping, who was seeking a new term, and challenger Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma of South Africa.

AU sources said the election was tight, with Ping holding a slender lead in three rounds of voting in which neither candidate secured the required two-thirds majority.

Dlamini-Zuma was then forced under AU rules to pull out leaving Ping to face a fourth round on his own, but he stilled failed to garner the votes he needed. 

Africa leaders failed to elect a new
head of the AU Commission

South African delegates broke into song and dance after the stalemate vote conducted at the two-day summit in the new AU headquarters built by the Chinese and unveiled at the weekend.

In a statement before the vote, Dlamini-Zuma had pledged to spare no effort in building on the work of those African women and men who wanted to see "an African Union that is a formidable force striving for a united, free, truly independent, better Africa."

Post never held by a woman

Dlamini-Zuma has served in the cabinet of every South African president since Nelson Mandela. One of the country's most powerful women, she is known for competent management and her stern personality. Her ex-husband, the current president, Jakob Zuma, found her indispensable enough to appoint her home affairs minister, the post she now holds.   

No woman has ever held the post of chair of the AU Commission. The job will be taken over by AU Commission deputy chairman, Erastus Mwencha, from Kenya, until fresh polls at the next summit in the summer.    

This is the first time in the history of the 54 member regional body that the AU Commission has failed to a elect a new head. 

'Peace comes back to our continent' 

Ban Ki-moon warned the AU Sudan
was 'threatening regional stability'

Earlier, the summit of African leaders was addressed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who warned that a furious row between Sudan and South Sudan was threatening regional security. "The international community needs to act, and its needs to act now," Ban added.

The UN Secretary General also berated African nations for treating gays as "second-class citizens, or even criminals."

The post of AU chairman, which rotates once a year, passed from Equatorial Guniea's President Tedodor Obiang Nguema to Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi, though with none of the attention lavished on the AU Commission vote. With strife in Somalia, violence in Nigeria and riots in Senegal following an octogenarian president's resolve to cling to power, Boni Yayi said he wanted to ensure that "peace comes back to our continent." Obiang summed up his one year stint by accusing "external powers" of trying to "perpetuate their influence" in Africa.      

Author: Mark Caldwell (AFP, dpa)

Editor: Daniel Pelz / rm

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