Africa waits to see who will take over from Deby and Dlamini-Zuma
Chad's President Idriss Deby (right) with his wife Inda in Bamako, Mali on January 14, 2017. PHOTO | STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN | AFP
What you need to know:
Guinean President Alpha Conde could step into Deby’s shoes following the withdrawal of Niger leader Mahamadou Issoufou.
The latter’s reason for not taking up chairmanship was that Niger shared a border with Chad.
Conde could become AU boss when his country is headed for local government elections slated for February.
The 28th African Union Summit that began on January 22 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia will come to a close on Tuesday, by which time the organisation would have a new chairman to replace Chadian leader Idriss Deby.
Guinean President Alpha Conde could step into Deby’s shoes following the withdrawal of Niger leader Mahamadou Issoufou.
The latter’s reason for not taking up chairmanship was that Niger shared a border with Chad.
Conde could become AU boss when his country is headed for local government elections slated for February.
The last local elections were in 2005. The elections have been postponed many times in the past, raising tensions in the volatile nation.
Opposition parties were angered, for instance, when a presidential election was held in 2015, returning Conde to power for a second term.
As a mark of chaotic politics, distrust has always run high in the mineral-rich but poverty-stricken country, in which ethnic tensions often become deadly during election.
The AU summit’s theme is “Harnessing the Demographic Dividend Through Investments in Youth”.
Accordingly, the forum included the AGM of the African Youth Commission.
That meeting, from January 22 to 25, focused on promoting activism for appropriate channelling of investments in youth.
There was also a meeting on gender matters between January 22 and 27. It was dedicated to the empowerment of the youth, especially girls, for leadership and civic participation.
The decision to focus on youth is advised by the realisation that Africa’s young people are a major component of the human potential, crucial for a continent struggling to eradicate poverty.
NEW CHAIRPERSON
It is expected that by the time the summit ends, the continental body will have a new chairperson of the AU Commission following months of lobbying by different candidates.
Unfortunately, the first two rounds of voting at the July AU summit in Rwanda were inconclusive, resulting in the postponement of the exercise.
Unlike the AU chairperson, whose position is largely ceremonial, the commission’s chief’s job is coveted and important.
Among the frontrunners is Kenyan Foreign CS Amina Mohamed, who hopes to replace South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
The latter is reportedly gunning for high political office in her country and is even said to be planning to replace her former husband Jacob Zuma as the next president.
Ms Mohamed’s quest for the position has been marked by months of a fast and furious diplomatic forays to different corners of the continent.
She will be facing several others in the election, which start tomorrow, including some of those who ran for the position last year.
Among them were two women: Uganda’s former vice-president Specioza Kazibwe and Botswana’s Foreign Affairs minister Pelonomi Venson Moitoi.
Also in the race last year was Equatorial Guinea’s Foreign minister Agapito Mba Mokuy, who is expected to be in the race this year.
An election will also be held to find the commission’s deputy chairperson and eight commissioners.
The positions being fought for will be filled by candidates drawn from the different regions of the continent.
The nominations will also take gender into consideration.
