The election for the new chairperson of the African Union Commission chairperson kicked off on Sunday evening with little hope for ending the deadlock that has severely handicapped the Commission this year, but the result was astounding. South Africa succeeded in getting Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma elected to the highest office of the African Union.
"It is a victory for South African diplomacy," Clayson Monyela, spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Co-Operation (DIRCO), enthused from Addis Ababa late on Sunday. Against all odds, well-formed analyses and popular opinion, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) candidate, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, was elected chairperson of the African Union Commission. It was a result that caught even seasoned African policy wonks by surprise.
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