Press. voanews.com
The 27th African Union summit has wrapped up in Kigali, Rwanda. Perhaps
the most notable action, or inaction, to come from the event was that delegates
did not elect a new chairperson. None of the three candidates contesting the position received the
necessary two-thirds majority vote, so the elections have been postponed until
January and most likely will include new candidates.
"I think there's been general consensus, even among some of the
member states themselves, that the three candidates were not the best that
Africa had to offer, so you know, we've got an opportunity now," said
Elissa Jobson, adviser on African Union relations for the International Crisis
Group.
"It gives the member states the chance to look and find the better
candidates — someone who can guide the African Union at what is actually quite
a crucial time for them in terms of peace and security," she added. But J. Peter Pham, director of the Washington-based Africa Center at the
Atlantic Council, says the bigger issue is that of the entire 10-member
commission, whose elections have also been postponed until January.
He says that in 2003, 73 candidates ran for the 10 slots; in 2008, there
were 45 candidates; in 2012, 29 candidates; and this time around, 40
candidates. Pham says this overall diminishing pool of candidates is worth noting,
because some regions have already decided on their desired candidates ahead of
time and so the vote is simply a formality.
"I think what's happening is, instead of competitive elections,
what we're having is essentially a lot of diplomacy ahead of time, so the
elections become pro forma," he said.
AU funding
In a step toward self-reliance, the AU agreed to levy taxes on certain
imports in order to fund itself, since external donors supply much of its
current annual budget of almost $500 million. U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon, through his spokesperson, noted what he called the "innovative
funding arrangements aimed at providing the AU, via the Peace Fund, with
increased financial means to address the peace and security challenges facing
the continent."
Pham says it's about time.
"Whether this is actually achieved or not remains to be seen. Up to
date, it's been rather embarrassing that for an emerging continent, Africa is
extremely dependent on outsiders to even fund its own governance
mechanisms," Pham said.
The African Union announced its support for a request made by IGAD Plus
— the East African regional bloc that includes Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria
and Algeria — for African troops to help U.N. peacekeepers in South Sudan. That
country's peace is tenuously holding under a cease-fire announced last week
after violence rocked the capital, Juba.
That request, which now goes to the U.N. Security Council, includes a
revised mandate asking for the deployment of a regional protection force. "Which sends a sign to Juba that the continent is serious about
this and that they do want to see the violence ended and lasting resolution
found," said ICG's Jobson.
South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, has rejected the idea of additional
foreign troops entering his country.
Other action
Separately, the first "African e-passports" were issued to AU
heads of state, permanent representatives of these states and ministers of
foreign affairs, aiming to ease restrictions on the movement of people, goods
and services across borders.
And, Morocco formally asked to rejoin the African Union. It left the
Organization of African Unity, the AU's predecessor, in 1984 because the AU
recognized the independence of Western Sahara.
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