Algeria pledges to back CS Amina Mohamed for AU chair post
What you need to know:
- He has visited Chad, Ghana, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. He is set to visit Mali and Nigeria.
- On Wednesday, Sierra Leone President Dr Ernest Koroma said his country would support her candidacy.
Algeria has pledged support for Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed for the chairmanship of the Africa Union Commission.
Algeria, through its Senate President Ben Saleh Abdalkader, said it will support Ms Mohamed without any conditions.
“We know madam Aminas’s potential based on her experience and we assure you that we will give her full support for the position of AU Commission chairperson,” said Mr Saleh when he met Deputy President William Ruto in Algiers.
Algeria joins the list of several other African countries that have pledged support for Ms Mohamed for the AU job.
On Wednesday, Sierra Leone President Ernest Koroma said his country would support her candidacy.
“We know we have a candidate from an ECOWAS member state but we know Amina has what it takes to steer the commission and the Africa agenda within the AU,” said President Koroma during a meeting with Mr Ruto in Freetown.
During the meeting in Algiers, the Deputy President assured the Algerian government of Kenya’s position on the fate of Western Sahara in the AU.
The membership of Western Sahara in the AU has strained relations between Algeria and Morocco, which is opposed to the inclusion of the country in the continental body.
Kenya supports Western Sahara’s membership.
Mr Ruto has been visiting western and northern African countries to seek support for Ms Mohamed.
He has visited Chad, Ghana, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. He is set to visit Mali and Nigeria.
Nineteen Comesa countries have already backed her candidature
