South Africa floors Nigeria's candidate for AU chairmanship

The former wife of South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has emerged as the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

Dlamini-Zuma, who is South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister, defeated the incumbent AU Commission Chairperson, Jean Ping of Gabon.
Ping was Nigeria’s candidate for the position, according to sources in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the venue of the election.
Zuma won with 37 votes to Ping’s 14.
Nigeria supported Ping because of an agreement among the continental powers of Africa – South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt – under the then Organisation of African Unity, not to contest for the position of the chairperson of the body.
South Africa, however, said such an agreement could no longer be binding with the change from OAU to AU.