Morocco and Algeria set for diplomatic showdown ahead of AU elections

A continental diplomatic showdown between Morocco and Algeria is expected between now and February next year ahead of the elections for the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC).

Algeria has fronted two candidates, a woman and a man, while Egypt has done the same. Meanwhile, Morocco and Libya have each put forward one candidate. All male candidates will be disqualified because the chairperson seat reserved for the East has only male candidates, meaning the next AUC chairperson will be a man.

This will be a significant battle for Algeria and Morocco, who have longstanding tensions due to the Western Sahara conflict. Algeria has nominated their former envoy to Kenya, Salma Malika Haddadi, while Morocco has put forward journalist and politician Latifa Akharbach.

Both countries are significant players in the AU, so a showdown is expected. Libyan diplomat Najat Hajjaji and Egyptian economist Hanan Morsy, currently serving as the Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis, are likely to be the compromise candidates if the Maghreb rivals can't agree on a sole candidate.

The balance of power between the continent's various regions may play out once more, with North Africa likely to carry the day. The rivalry between Rabat and Algiers has been intensifying for years, with increasing risks that their political and economic competition will accelerate in new and more challenging directions.

The main issue underlying the dispute is not new. Morocco has long claimed that the Western Sahara, a resource-rich former Spanish colony in West Africa, is part of its territory. Rabat has made securing international recognition for its sovereignty over the territory its main diplomatic objective.

Algeria, by contrast, has continued to support the Polisario Front, which has fought for the independence of what it calls the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic since the early 1970s. Only candidates nominated through the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps of the Northern Africa region at the AU would be considered for the post.

Interestingly, at the AU, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic ambassador is the Dean of the region, as he is the longest-serving.