Diomaye Faye convenes African meeting over Francophonie crisis
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Imvaho Nshya
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye is convening an extraordinary meeting of African heads of state in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on the eve of the closed-door summit on 16 November. According to Africa Intelligence, relayed by Imvaho Nshya, the DR Congo would agree to withdraw its candidacy for secretary-general of the Francophonie, while Rwanda refuses to withdraw that of Mushikiwabo.
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has convened a special meeting of the African heads of state present in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in an attempt to resolve the crisis shaking the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF). The dispute concerns the race for the post of secretary-general of the organisation. According to Imvaho Nshya, this meeting is due to take place on the evening of 15 November, before the closed-door summit on 16 November devoted to the future of the OIF and the choice of its next leader.
According to Africa Intelligence, the tensions stem mainly from the failure of countries to agree either on an election between several candidates or on a single consensus candidate. They have grown since French President Emmanuel Macron asked Rwandan President Paul Kagame to withdraw Louise Mushikiwabo’s candidacy. He also wrote to Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi asking him to withdraw that of Juliana Amato Lumumba, the DR Congo’s candidate. According to the same outlet, the DR Congo has agreed to withdraw its candidacy to ease discussions. Rwanda refuses, seeing this as interference, and recalls that Paris had backed Mushikiwabo’s first candidacy, in 2018.
Several countries, including Senegal, Benin and Togo, do not support a vote between several candidates: they fear that a leader elected in this way would begin his term without sufficient trust and unity. Rwanda maintains Louise Mushikiwabo’s candidacy, and a vote could be used if discussions fail to reach agreement. On the eve of the meeting, Ivory Coast, led by Alassane Ouattara, and Djibouti, led by Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, remain alongside it.
This meeting forms part of the Francophonie summit, which takes place on 15 and 16 November in Phnom Penh and is due to set the OIF’s direction for four years. On the same day, Kinshasa accuses Louise Mushikiwabo of ignoring the Congolese crisis within the OIF.
