Faki Mahamat re-elected head of AU Commission

Moussa Faki Mahamat was re-elected the chairperson of the African Union Commission on Saturday during the two-day virtual summit of the organisation.

The Chadian diplomat won the support of 51 of 55 member states in a secret ballot to win a second term as AU executive head at the 34th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU, whose theme is “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want”.

Rwanda’s candidate Monique Nsanzabaganwa was elected the new AUC Deputy Chairperson with 42 out of 55 votes.

Meanwhile, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa told the summit, which also dwelled on the continent’s pandemic response, that more needed to be done especially access to loans on favourable terms despite resources from the IMF and World Bank.

Another priority for the AU would be finding solutions to the conflicts in the Sahel, Ethiopia’s Tigray and Mozambique, he added.

President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo took over from Ramaphosa to serve as a one-year chairman of the Union.

Adira Kallo

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