Minister of Foreign Affairs Olivier Nduhungirehe said African countries should support one of the three African women contesting the Francophonie leadership, including Rwanda’s Louise Mushikiwabo, rather than back a non-African candidate.
In a post on X on Thursday, November 12, Nduhungirehe referred to an African Union Executive Council decision adopted in Addis Ababa on July 28 and 29, ahead of the election of the next Secretary-General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) in Cambodia.
He said efforts by African countries to favour a candidate from outside the continent would be a “blatant violation” of that decision.
He argued that the 27 African members of the Francophonie were free to choose among the three African candidates.
The candidates are Mushikiwabo, who is seeking another term; Juliana Amato Lumumba of the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Coumba Bâ of Mauritania. They face former Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș, the only candidate from outside Africa.
Nduhungirehe said the AU Executive Council had heard from the three African women or their representatives before endorsing all of their candidacies. He cited decision EX.CL/Dec.1361(XLIX), saying the agreement had received little attention in media coverage of the election.
His remarks did not mean that the AU had selected Mushikiwabo as Africa’s sole candidate. On his account, its support covered all three women, leaving African member states with a choice between competing candidacies from the continent.
There is a difference between that political position and the OIF’s own election rules. The organisation allows candidates from any full member country who meet its requirements, and the AU decision does not remove the Romanian contender from the ballot.
Nduhungirehe also expressed confidence in Mushikiwabo’s prospects, praising the reforms she has pursued and her vision for the organisation. His prediction of victory remains a political assessment, not an election result.
Mushikiwabo, a former Rwandan foreign minister, was elected Secretary-General in 2018 and took office in 2019. She secured a second four-year term in 2022. Her current bid would extend her leadership through 2030 if she is re-elected.
The AU backed Mushikiwabo specifically when she first sought the office in 2018. The situation is different this time, with three African candidates rather than a single individual receiving the endorsement described by Nduhungirehe.
The election will take place on November 16 during the Francophonie Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Although the OIF includes 90 states and governments across several membership categories, the decision rests with its 53 full members.
Under rules introduced in 2022, leaders will first attempt to agree on a candidate by consensus.
If they cannot, the next Secretary-General will be chosen by a simple majority of members present and voting. All four contenders presented their programmes to foreign ministers in Paris in June.
For Rwanda, the vote will determine whether Mushikiwabo remains at the head of the organisation for another four years. Nduhungirehe’s intervention has also brought the question of African support into focus just days before that decision.
Elie GATETE
RADIOTV10