afrol News, 2 February - African Union has elected Libya's President Muammar Gaddafi as the new chairperson at a summit in Ethiopia today. Mr Gaddafi was handed the chairman's gavel by outgoing AU leader Jakaya Kikwete, the Tanzanian president.

AU spokeswoman Habiba Mejri-Sheikh said President Gaddafi was elected by the heads of state in a closed-door session, for a one-year period.

The organisation's communiqué said among other issues debated at the summit, was a Libyan-backed proposal to set up a single government, the United States of Africa.

The AU member states also reached a compromise following extensive discussions on the issue to transform African Union Commission into a new African Union Authority, to give it a broader mandate.

Outgoing chair President Kikwete briefed his colleagues on the key activities undertaken during his tenure as the AU Chairman, including the peace process in Kenya, which led to the formation of a unity government in that country after a fractious election.

He also brought forth the AU's intervention in the crisis in Comoros, where the African body sent a military team into the Comoros, which ousted a group of military rulers who declared control of the Island of Anjouan.

The chairmanship of the African Union is a rotating position held by heads of state for one year. It is a position heads of state can use to wield influence over the continent's politics.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories