Jean Ping of Gabon elected AU Commission Chairman

EYASU SOLOMON:-African leaders Friday elected Gabonese foreign m inister Jean Ping Chairman of the AU Commission, PANA reports from the Ethiopian
capital where the 10th AU summit is holding.
Also elected are Kenya's long-serving diplomat Erastus Mwencha to the post of De puty Commission Chairman with Algeria's Ramtantane Lamamra the Commissioner for P eace and Security.
The elections which saw Ping four other candidates, also brought on board Gambia 's Julia Dolly Joiner, the incumbent Commissioner for Political Affairs for a se c ond term of office.
She joined the African Union Commission in 2003.
Ping replaces Alpha Konare of Guinea.
The Commissioner for Peace and Security replaces ambassador Said Djinnit of Alge ria, who has presided over the continent's peacekeeping operations in Sudan's Da r fur region.
Ghanaian President John Kufuor celebrated the election of Ping to the post of Co mmission Chairperson, saying he was an experience politician who had served the e ntire West African region.
"I am very happy," President Kufour, the immediate past chairman of African Unio n, told journalists after emerging from the closed-door session where the electi o n took place.
"We like him because he has the required experience. He is the Foreign Minister of his country and we are happy about his election," President Kufuor said.
Assistant Chairman Mwencha, who trounced Egypt's Khair Eldin Abdel Latif, salute d his "worthy competitor for a good battle".
"I did not for a moment take my worthy competitor for granted," Mwencha, the cur rent Secretary-General of the Lusaka-based Common Market for Eastern and Souther n Africa (COMESA), told PANA.
The Kenyan, who has served as a foremost diplomat on Africa's integration, pledg ed his dedication to the issue of an African government, saying his 25 years at t he helm of the regional organisation had prepared him well enough for the new po s ting.
African leaders at the Summit had called for the election of competent executive s to steer the organisation to prosperity.
The calls were led by Kufuor, who underscored the need for competent officials t o lead the organisation.
Sources told PANA the leaders discussed the Union Government of Africa and its a udit report, which seeks to lay out a foundation for the formation of such a gov e rnment.
The audit will be discussed further by a panel of 12 African leaders.
The heads of state and government have decided to keep the audit issue amongst t hemselves and refused to defer it to the ministerial panel, which enjoys widespr e ad powers.