Rivalry Between Nigeria And South Africa Stalled AU Elections

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Guardian

5 February 2012

Rivalry Between Nigeria And South Africa Stalled AU Elections

RIVALRY between Nigeria and South Africa, and a deep diplomatic cleavage in the African Union, may have led to the failure of the AU to elect a substantive chairperson for the AU Commission after four rounds of voting that ended without the emergence of a winner last Monday in Addis Ababa.

Informed Diplomatic sources considered the deadlocked election as a victory for Nigeria, which is opposed to emergence of South Africa’s candidate on the grounds that the top five members of the AU, as was in the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) should not be presenting candidates for the topmost office of the organisation.