African Union keeps commission head in landslide win
African leaders vote in favor of second term for Chad's Moussa Faki Mahamat on first day of Union summit
FILE PHOTO
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia
A seasoned Chadian diplomat, Moussa Faki Mahamat received a sweeping vote of confidence among African leaders Saturday to serve as chairman of the African Union Commission (AUC) for another four-year term.
Moussa Faki received 51 of 54 African leaders' votes in favor of serving a second term in a virtual vote held amid the 34th biannual assembly of the pan-African body.
The leaders are also set to elect commissioners of the AUC during their two-day summit, which is expected to focus on Africa's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, security issues and the implementation of a continental free-trade area.
Earlier, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa handed over the annual chairmanship of the Union to his counterpart from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi.
