section_path: Background
section_name: Background
paragraph_text: Background
  
  Nominations were open until 6 August 2024. The new chair was elected at the 38th AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 2025 by the AU Assembly via a secret ballot.
  
  Past chairpersons have hailed from western, central and southern regions of the African Union. The AU Executive Council asserted the right of the East African region to produce the next chairperson and North Africa was therefore assigned the deputy chairperson post.
  
  The election was overshadowed by various conflicts afflicting the continent, particularly the M23 offensive in the DR Congo.