Zambia’s Inonge Mbikusita Lemanika has lost her bid for the African Union (AU) Commission position with the Gabonese candidate scooping the election with 31 votes out of a total of 46 ballots cast.
And the position for the Commission Vice Chairperson has been scooped by Kenya’s Erastus Mwencha from the East African region beating the only opponent from Egypt Eldin Abdel Latif.
This follows an election which took place during the on going 10th AU Heads of States and Government Summit under a closed door session here at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Conference Centre n the Ethiopian Capital, Addis Ababa today.
ZANIS reports from Addis Ababa that the Gabonese Foreign Affairs Minister Jean Ping won the election with 46 votes while Zambia’s Ambassador to the United States of America (USA) came second with 12 votes.
The Sierra Leone candidate Abdulai Conteh, Chief Justice in Latin America’s Belize, who was earlier on reported to have pulled out of the race managed a paltry three votes.
The electoral college comprises African Presidents who are allowed to cast one vote.
Mr Ping replaces Malian Professor Konare who has been AU Commission Chairperson since 2003.
Professor Konare succeeded Cote D Ivoire’s Amara Essy, who run the Secretariat from 2002 to 2003. The election for the AU Commission Chairperson is held every after five years.
The position has been held by the two Western African nationals but the new Commission Chair is from the Central African region.
Earlier, Burundi, Swaziland and Mauritius withdrew from the race.
The election of the Commission Chairperson and other Commissioners was under discussion by the AU Foreign Ministers Executive Council on Tuesday but the matter was transferred to the Heads of State and Government Conference saying that it was not possible to elect the Commissioners without the Commission Chairperson or vice Chairperson.
To be elected as Commission Chairperson, the candidate needs to receive two thirds of the votes of eligible members. Countries under sanction do not have the right to vote.
Earlier calculations according to PANAPRESS were that if eight countries under sanction are excluded, one needs to have 30 votes to win the election.
well tried though, I knew u needed a miracle to win. You were a wrong candidate with poor credentials exept that you have had silver spoon all your life.. easy routes.
No one can compete with Erastus Mwencha. He was the better candidate by far!
The naked fact that the top seat in the Organzation has continually revolved between arabic and francophone Africa leaving out subsaharan Africa actually underscores the tenuous nature of any possible total unity govt,the cause which has led to Chitala’s exit from the diplomatic ranks.
Zambia out of Africa Cup; Inonge loses AU bid; ZESCO blackouts; flooding countrywide; Zambia loses 1-5 to Cameroon; inflation going up again; rural poverty increases; Zambia walloped by Cameroon… this has been a depressing period.
#4 right depressing period.
Inonge,,,you have dammed the Kuomboka-thatis bad marketing for the country!! I hope Maureen will learn some lessons or she prefers to learn from her own. The President was over confident and announced that Z was scooping the AU post,,, alas,,, it looks like Nchanga by-elections,,,the margin is too wide as usual. May be VJ would have done a better job? Please do not blame Chitala for expressing his opinion… Awa fye mama,,
Mrs Maureen Mwanawasa,…Dr Inonge Mbikusuta-Lewanika,…Mr Chitala……..2011, here they come!
Inonge is hard working…it could be that not enough was done in marketing her and that we startted a bit late…too bad for the loss…anyway…there is always some other avenues to take.
Guys what has happened is in the will of God. This is a woman of high integrity and the fear of God. She has scored major sucsesses as ambassor to USA, with many wards. I believe God has a job for her here in Zambia. I personally would like her to stand for president. She is the onlt woman at present who can give the men a good run for their money. If it needed one vote to be prez, I would give her my vote. Inonge for prez 2011, Zed needs you. God bless you your highness.
I can’t wait for that Jabbes Mvula feature film called “Bad Timing”. A lot can be learnt from Zambia’s first ‘feature film’. In life Timing is everything. At the age of 64, things look rather slim political wise for bo inonge, she better start thinking of retirement from active politics so that she spends time with her grandchildren. Jean Ping was going to win simply because the guy has a lot of experience and he is half chinese. He must have used his chinese origins promising to attract investments and push for infrastructure development from the chinese and we all know that China is the 3rd largest economy in the world with a pretty good track record in construction and investments.
keep losing ba zambia. thats what you do best
You can’t float a lightweight and hope to get a result. Understand people, you have to be an ex-president, foreign minister and from franco phone Africa otherwise keep dreaming…I suspect Levy was seting up this lady for a crushing fall, she is on record as having plot 1 ambitions as well, she has now mired herself into some inconvenient hole
If Inonge can lose an election, with all that support and GRZ money, what more the Chipolopolo boys without enough money. Even the little they had, it was hard to get it. Next time bane!!
Umwaice Cliford Mulenga has been voted Young Afican footballer of the year. Congrats!!
A big lesson not only for Zambia but the Southern Africa English speaking countries as well.The need to through away the colonial borders and unite as one people and pull in one direction.Hard luck Inonge try next time.
Thats what happens when you choose people based on political affiliations rather than experience. Those shoes were too big for her!!!
you pretended to run for president but you were really out to promote your personal interests and got paid for confusing the Zambian electorate by being one of the many presidential candidates. Nice to see you eat some dirt.
Zambians, get rich or die trying. Do not blame the old lady. Keep on trying; at anything… Others, including you, did not have the guts to try?
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French speaking African countries always stand together. If you analyse the votes you will find out that all French speaking countries voted for Ping. A good number of East African countries also voted for him. As for Inonge she has the disadvantage that two SADC members i.e South Africa and Zimbabwe have never been enthusiastic of any Zambian candidature be it regionally or continentally. Just look at what happened at COSAFA!
#16 You can not fault the lady for lack of experience. I think she handled the Z mission in Washington very well (just one among other roles she has held). In my view she was our best shot. The loss is more an indication that we do not really have the political muscle Zambia once had during the 70’s. On positions like this we need to show unity of purpose instead of destroying each other.
Much has been said about how the Francophone and Arab countries stick together. I am sure even Anglo-phone countries also stick together. The only thing is that Francophone countries form the largest voting block in the AU. For someone from Zambia to win, they have to be a heavyweight. I am sorry but the lady cannot be classified as such. You should be looking for people who’ve served professionally at such institutions as the World Bank, UN and even the AU secretariat. I am not sure that the lady fits that profile. As for LPM’s confidence, as usual he was clueless.
Nemesis, Come on. What exception Job has she done being ambassador in the US. Do not mistakes those petty publicity to be anything significant. To win at that level you need serious points in 5 arears of human endeavor. Her results are ordinary and her background is simple like sliding on the water slide
PRESIDENT Mwanawasa has dismissed Zambia’s Ambassador to Libya, Mbita Chitala and recalled him with immediate effect.
State House Chief Analyst for Press and Public Relations, David Kombe said the dismissal was prompted by Mr Chitala’s article he posted on the Internet urging African leaders to move fast on the question of the Union Government of Africa.
According to the statement by Mr Kombe, Mr Chitala in the article advocates policies contrary to those of the Zambian government and attacks the majority of African leaders who have not supported the establishment of a Union Government Africa.
In his article, Mr Chitala argues that it was a lame excuse for some leaders to argue that
that what happens when you send wrong people to win support for her!!! sending dictator and communist like KK….. CAN SOMEONE WIN FOR SURE? besides she did’t have the credential. A WRONG CANDIDATE. MAYBE NEVERS MUMBA OR DAN PULE COULD HAVE TRIED
#25 What credentials does Nevers Mumba or Dan Pule have on the international political scene? Never’s could’nt even keep the local VP job for six months.Dan is infactuated with a young love or is it true he has come to his senses and sent her back to her parents? Float people like Magande who served for a long time as head of Afro-Carribean-Pacific nations (ACP). Prof Hasungule of SACCORD even VJ or legal scholars like Muna Ndulo would have stood a chance. With taking anything from lady Inonge; the shoes were too big! She was trying too big a “bite”
# 20 While I appreciate the fact that you think the Francophone countries are united, I would like to point out to you that most of those leaders are puppets of the French government.Tell me which nations are politically stable? Anglophone or Francophone? Christian/neutral or Arabic? Lets first build up on SADC and Comesa and when we see the benefits, only then should we expand. Look at the Africa cup, they always host it themselves, West or North Africa. We should not be lured into thinking we are thinking alike at THIS MOMENT. Maybe the future West and North Africans Will be better than the current.
I believe one has to have track record of tangible accomplishments that cannot be disputed. The problem with our politicians is that they just talk and no action. They are very skilled at plundering national resources. It is time for action and less talk.
I think you should not listen to these negative opionions Inonge. Each time I see you Iam proud of my country. You made Zambia proud by being a woman standing for such a post. Its just that the continent is still too male centred. Dont be downcast… progressive Zambians like me are happy with your efforts. If possible try again.
Good try Dr. Inonge. Let the stone throwers that always try to bring others down be left behind. As Africans we should help one another climbing mountains. Let someone’s achievement be our achievement and someone’s failure, be taken as our failure. Only by so doing will we strive to succeed as a people. We have for a long time tried to “kill” our friends that aimed high unless we change we shall continue to be behind in many areas. I know that we can do better and we shall strive to support one another.
Build and run a railway to Sesheke.
Inonge’s biggest problem was that she has never been tested management wise. The salim salim of this world had to be foreign ministers and understand how cabinet works. Being in USA is not enough. What is worse is that her credentials appeared weaker than the true candidates. She could have made a good Vice Chairperson. Imagine, we are chair of SADC but we end up losing it . Kabinga Pande was too junior to see the light.
i know little of this woman, i won’t say much. LPM also should have blown the trumpet out that Zambia would scope the post, 46 votes to 12, like 4 times more, that embarrassing enough.
Mbita Chitala also is disgracing us, I don’t think he understands diplomacy at all. thats the problem with democracy, pipo are allowed even to speak “nonsense” .
We have to look at the bigger picture here. We could have put up any other Zambian big wig as our candidate and the results would have probably been the same. We’ve definitely lost our clout and are no longer held in the high esteem we once enjoyed during the liberation struggles. So spending colossal sums of kwacha’s and sending super Ken all over North Africa to campaign for the poor lady, was merely a lost cause. Next time let’s be more realistic.
Well, sad you did not make it this time… There is always a next time. I would encourage you to use lessons from this loss to garner effective support the next time you stand. Even if it is not the AU, you may need to apply similar principles – start campaigning early, identify useful allies and sometimes bring potential opponents on your side. BRAVO! I admire your courage…
#9 Please enlighten us, what “major successes” has she scored as ambassador to the U.S?
I am glad this woman lost the election these people at the Zambian embassy here have failed us a lot and atually do nothing apart from getting their allowances from the hard working Zambian back home. The attitude at the wash dc embassy is really bad and needs to change. Thats why I wrote before that she can not win
Hard luck that Inonge did not win. However, we need to look at the K 2.7 billion spent on her campaign, what a waste of funds. I think Inonge should have gone for vice chairperson and after two terms, go for the the Chairperson position. Her credentials are good but she has not served for long in cabinet and other public institutions. Running an Embassy is not the same as AU, especially with the problems Africa is facing now. I hope Inonge did not organise the PHD which Mwanawasa received in the USA as a token of appreciation. LPM needs to consult with other senior citizens before taking on critical decisions such as these.Mwencha was smart enough to go for AU vice- a step further.
When a position becomes vacant there is a job profile and person specification and applicants will apply if they meet the criteria. I guess Ba Inonge felt that she met the criteria and so applied for the role. The other thing one normally does is get a feel of other candidates and so access ones chance of getting the role! Having said that, one needs to consider whether the campaign team was current enough, e.g. is our first president current in today’s terms? He is a legend of Zambia no doubt but how much of Africa today? What influencing and negotiating skills did the rest of the team have? Another thing is that most of Africa is Arabic.
Cont:
Are the African Arabs ready for women to take on such roles? Not just yet is my response. What is the perception of our President in the rest of Africa? Is he considered too friendly to the west? Would they then be comfortable with Ba Inonge the Zambian Ambassador to the United States of America? Did Derrick Chitalas article influence the outcome of the votes? Derrick at that time was a diplomat in Libya and Libya is now very friendly with the West. So was this a protest vote? Another question is that did the other candidates campaign for the role in the manner that Zambia did?
Cont: It seemed like an American type of campaign and so what message did this type of campaigning send to the Arab Africa? Are they all just male chauvinists? Was it age discrimination?
Let us now learn lessons from this so that next time we will be better prepared. If the amount spent on the campaign was not budgeted for, I would be most furious.
…Africa did well, it was feared she would have been a square peg in a round hole. Also wrong campaign team, how do you have pipo like KK or RB leading a wasteful campaign?? KK has not even been mentioned in Kenya where he purpoted to go and ‘study’ the situation so he could make ‘peace’. It appears the country has very little international standing. Anyway, hard lack, try Zedian presido race.
HI FELLOW ZAMBIANS,
HUTS OFF TO MADAM INONGE, SHE IS ONE OF THE VERY WELL ACCOMPLISHED WOMEN IN ZAMBIA WHOM I WOULD GLADILY VOTE FOR SHOU8LD THEY CONSIDER STANDING FOR PRESIDENCY… ATLEAST UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE, SHE CAN REFER TO A PROFILE SHOULD PEOPLE QUESTION HER ABILITIES…
THE LOSS IS SAD FOR ZAMBIA. MBITA’S SELFISH AND PURELY UNPROFESSIONAL LETTER WAS A MOJOR CONTRIBUTION TO OUR LOSS…
I AM COGNIZANT OF THE BENFITS THIS MIGHT HAVE BROUGHT TO ZAMBIA AND THE REGION IF SHE HAD WON…. BUT AT THE SAME TIME ALLOW ME TO QUESTION GOVERNMENTS PRIORITIES…
FLOODS….BAD ROADS… HEALTH… ALL WHICH NEED DIRE ATTENTION! THE MANAGEMENNT OF OUR COUNTRY LEAVES MUCH TO BE DESIRED!
#37 Can you shed more light on your assertion that Bo inonge’s performance(attitude at embassy) in washington is bad. Some people are calling for her to stand for presidency. It would be unfair for her and her supporters for you to make a blanket statement without citing specifics. On the other hand if her performance is really bad as you assert then people need to know.
This woman should just come back and try to stand as zedian presdo before she can go and stand at international level.
Bo Inonge will be too old to make a good President in 2011. She is 65 now, in 2011 she will be 68. We don’t want to have another President who will spend half their term in office going for medical trips abroad. She should start seriously considering retirement from active politics. We are tired of recycled politicians and besides she was rejected back in 2001 when she took part in the Presidential elections, what makes her supporters think she can win this time around? Zambia needs young and visionary leaders who can bring about some much needed development. Abash old generation, Viva Young generation!!! Bo Inonge doesn’t have what it takes to move Zambia forward anymore.
This lady is hardly even in DC, you cant even evaluate her performance there..
I’m from Germany and I dont know much about either Mrs.Inonge Mbikusita nor about Mr. Jean Ping. But I wonder that nobody argues about the qualities of both. Its all about gender and the regional provenance. Isn’t it possible that Mr. Ping is just fitting the post better than Mrs. Mbikusita? The AU is an All-African Organisation, so why can’t a francophone male be a good choise for anglophone women? What do you think about YOUR new Commission Chairman?