The Search for Next African Union Commission Leaders Officially Begins
ADDIS ABABA – The search for the next African Union Commission Chairperson begins ahead of the 2025 elections for the bloc’s senior leadership.
This year, Moussa Faki Mahamat will end his second term as the AUC chairman – a position he has held since April 2017. The position of the deputy chairperson and six other departments headed by commissioners will als be up for grabs.
Ahead of that, the Pan African bloc has initiated the election process of the AUC senior leadership today wy with the call for interested candidates to submit, to their member states, their Curriculum Vitae.
Their CVs have to be accompanied by vision statements outlining how they intend to advance the transformative agenda of the AU, and to address the existing and emerging challenges facing the continent.
The elections for all eight leadership positions of the AUC will take place during the African Union Summit in February 2025.
Inter-regional rotation
The Union says the February 2025 election process will be based on the principle of inter-regional rotation.
The Eastern region will submit both male and female candidates for the role of Chairperson.
So far, three candidates from the region have registered interest in the Chairperson seat – Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga, Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mohamoud Ali Youssouf and Somalia’s former Foreign Minister Fawzia Adam.
So far, three candidates from the region have registered interest in the Chairperson seat – Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga, Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf and Somalia’s former Foreign Minister Fawzia Adam.
Meanwhile, the current AUC deputy chairwomen Monique Nsanzabaganwa of Rwanda will also step aside.
The Northern region will submit both male and female candidates for the Deputy Chairperson role, per AU.
The remaining three regions also will submit at least two candidates – one female and one male – for the six portfolios of Commissioners.
Each region determines its own procedure for nominating candidates for the portfolios for which it is eligible.
The deadline for the submission of the regional nominations to the AU Commission is 6th August 2024.
Only names of candidates submitted by the region will be considered in the pre-selection process undertaken by the Panel of Eminent Africans, the bloc says, adding: only member States that are not under AU sanctions are allowed to submit candidates.
Requirements for candidates set
The Panel of Eminent Africans, composed of five (5) personalities, one per region, were appointed in February 2024 to oversee the pre-selection of candidatures for the eight positions.
The Panel have since developed the job profiles and competency requirements for the leadership posts. This includes generic leadership skills and competencies as well as expert and thematic skills for each portfolio per AU.
“The assessment process for all candidates is based on the skills and competencies identified for each senior leadership position,” the bloc says.
The Panel involves Prof. Paul Ngarambe of Burundi, (Central), Amb. Konjit SineGiorgisb of Ethiopia, (Eastern), Amb. Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko of South Africa (Southern) and Amb. Patrick Hayford of Ghana (Western) African Regions.
The Panel will have a member from the Northern Region upon the conclusion of regional consultations and the submission of the nominee, the AU says.
How the Elections will be conducted
The African Union Commission elections are conducted in a secret ballot.
The Assembly of Heads of State and Government elects the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson. The Ministerial Executive Council elects the Commissioners, who are appointed by the Assembly.
Gender rotation is considered in the elections such that if the Chairperson is male, a female is elected as the Deputy Chair and vice versa.
The Commission elected senior leadership members serve for a term of four years, renewable once.
Live Debate for AUC Chair Nominees
Ahead of the elections, candidates vying for the position of the AUC Chairperson participate in a televised debate broadcasted LIVE to African citizens.
The Africa Leadership Debate dubbed MjadalaAfrika is a platform that provides candidates an opportunity to outline their vision.
Their vision will respond to how they will lead the transformation of Africa through the implementation of the AU Mandate and Africa’s Agenda 2063.
The debate allows Africans and other stakeholders to put forward questions to the candidates on issues they want addressed on how to propel the continent’s growth and ensure Africa achieves its goals for integrated and sustainable development and becoming a major player in the Global Arena.