ADDIS ABABA: African Union leaders sought a peaceful solution to crises in Ivory Coast and other continental hotspots Sunday even as they designated a new chairman notorious for his brutal seizure of power. The leaders homed in on the continent's trouble spots and praised its successes, notably the peaceful handover of power in Guinea and the conduct of the independence poll in southern Sudan. They went on to designate Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema as the new chairman of the 53-member bloc, replacing Malawi's Bingu wa Mutharika. “The concept of democracy, human rights and good governance are not new to Africa, but they should be adapted to the African culture,” Obiang said in his acceptance speech. Observers have criticised Nguema's appointment, citing his poor human rights record at home which they say is at odds with the democracy aspirations of the 53-member pan-African bloc. Obiang toppled his own uncle in a 1979 coup and had him killed. Since then he has ruled his country with an iron first. “The vast majority of wealth in Equatorial Guinea is being used to support President Obiang and his family while most of the country lives in extreme poverty,” said Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch. “A country that has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world also has one of the highest rates of infant mortality,” he said. “Don't Africans and the African Union deserve better?” The African Union's presidency rotates among heads of state and government for a term of one year and alternates between the continent's five sub-regions. The holder of the post does not however have much sway on the bloc's policies, with the most important decisions taken by heads of state and government of its member nations. UN chief Ban Ki-moon told the two dozen heads of state assembled at the meeting to “confront common challenges.” Many of the pre-summit talks have been given over to the political crisis in Ivory Coast, where Alassane Ouattara has been recognised as the winner of the November presidential poll but his rival Laurent Gbagbo refuses to step down..
