The African Union is chaired for a few more weeks by Azali Assoumani, the president of the Comoros. Which country will take over the presidency of the institution next month? A question that is currently difficult to answer. Because the future presidency is at the heart of a real imbroglio. The position should in principle go to a North African country but the tense relations between Algeria and Morocco could reshuffle the cards.
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The rule is that the presidency goes in principle to the first vice-president of the office of the African Union. The problem is that for eleven months, no country has occupied the position. Because due to tensions between Algeria and Morocco, North Africa has not managed to find a representative. Mauritania was recently approached to take over the presidency but, according to several sources, Nouakchott has not shown much interest. Another possibility mentioned, that of Egypt, which chaired the AU in 2019.
But if North Africa failed to find a candidate, it would be Southern Africa’s turn to fill the role. Which countries would then appear at the forefront? A diplomat stationed in Addis Ababa believes that Angola could be interested. But, according to a good expert on the African Union, South Africa has two advantages to put forward.
The country not only held the presidency of the Brics last year but, above all, until then it was the only one on the continent to be part of the G20, the club of the 20 most powerful economies on the planet, a club that the African Union has integrated last September. Can things settle down quickly? Not necessarily. “ We can reach the summit without a president », admits our diplomat. The imbroglio could thus last a few more weeks.