Africa: AU Commission Chief Urges Parties to Focus On Serving Citizens and Strengthening Nat'l Interests
Speaking in Addis Ababa, African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf delivered a pointed message to political parties across the continent: winning elections is not enough. The real work, he said, is in serving citizens and building the kind of democratic governance that actually moves Africa forward.
Youssouf urged parties to shift their focus toward consensus-building on the continent's development priorities, pushing back against the idea that political power is an end in itself. For him, governance has to mean something tangible for the people it is meant to serve.
It is a call that lands at a critical moment, as many African nations continue to grapple with questions of accountability, representation, and what democratic leadership truly looks like in practice. Whether political actors are ready to hear it is another matter entirely.
Originally published by AllAfrica.