African Union: North Africa agrees on Ghazouani as chairperson

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is likely to become the next AU chairperson after the African Union’s executive council is said to have agreed on his name at its meeting on Wednesday ahead of the heads of state summit at the weekend.

Angola will deputise and take over the chair next year when it rotates to Southern Africa. Both Morocco and Algeria were candidates for the post, and, usually, the candidate for chairperson is decided a year in advance to allow for a smooth handover.

Finding consensus

“It was the first agreement between North African countries since 2018,” says Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) ambassador Mohamed Beisat, representing the disputed state of Western Sahara. He attended the meeting.

He tells The Africa Report that since the admission of Morocco to the AU in 2017, states in the region have struggled to agree on most issues. This is due to protracted disagreements over the status of Western Sahara between the SADR and its ally Algeria, and Morocco. This dispute was also the reason Morocco left the AU’s predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, in 1984.

Beisat hints at the possibility in future to push Morocco out of the AU again.

“There is a procedure in the AU to kick out a country. That needs the vote of the majority of the countries, and we will proceed with that if Morocco continues blocking the process of the AU, oppressing the Sahrawis and refusing to cooperate. They will find themselves in the same situation as they found themselves in 1984 when they left us,” he says.

Robust debate

Thirty-nine out of the 54 member states voted in favour of Morocco’s admission at the 2017 summit, which means at least 12 states would have to change their opinion for such a vote to succeed. Morocco, together with Algiers, is also one of the AU’s biggest funders.

Ghazouani’s election must be confirmed by the heads of the member states this weekend, something that is often considered a formality. There is still a remote chance that disagreements could be aired at the summit.

“I think we have reached agreement” on the chair, said South Africa’s international relations minister Naledi Pandor. She told The Africa Report on Wednesday night that the first day of the meeting went smoothly because the Permanent Representatives’ Council, made up of ambassadors from member states to the AU, “have done a lot of work” during their meeting last month.

“I’m sure some [discussions] will be robust but I’m sure that we will be able to settle them amicably,” she said.

Unifying role

Pandor previously told The Africa Report that South Africa’s interest was to see a “consensus position which represents the best opportunity for unity” on the continent.

“You wouldn’t like to have a chair who would lead to disputes, points of order and objections. We want a chair who would be able to manage the meetings of the AU and draw all our nations together,” she added.

South Africa has sided with the SADR and Algeria in the Western Sahara dispute. It also lobbied strongly against Morocco’s admission in 2017.

North Africa has thus far also failed to put forward a candidate to serve on the AU’s panel of eminent persons, which will play an important role in vetting candidates for the next AU Commission chairperson. Moussa Faki Mahamat’s term comes to an end in 2024 and his replacement has to be elected at next year’s summit.

The rivalry between Morocco and Algiers also manifests in technical committees, an AU official tells The Africa Report. “When the technical process is done, why would you want to get ambassadors involved in everything?” he says.

Crisis Group said in its report on what the summit’s priorities should be that greater cooperation is crucial. “Too often, Algiers and Rabat reflexively oppose what the other supports,” it said.