One of the agenda items was to elect six new members of the AU Commission. The Commission is the AU’s secretariat, which carries out its day-to-day operations. These are the first commissioner elections since the Union’s reform process began in 2017. The reform process was deemed
urgent and necessary given the role the AU is expected to play in achieving Africa’s Agenda 2063.
In 2021, the number of Commissioners was reduced from eight to six. The six will “focus on fewer priority areas” and portfolios.
Four of the commissioners are now women. They will work with the AU Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat from Chad (re-elected), and his deputy, Monique Nsanzabaganwa from Rwanda. Nsanzabaganwa takes office for the first time and is the first woman deputy chairperson.