South African media on Monday said the election of Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as the first female head of the African Union Commission was a watershed and a victory for the region.
Dlamini-Zuma beat incumbent Jean Ping of Gabon in a closely fought election over several rounds of voting late Sunday at the AU summit in Addis Ababa.
She is the first person from the region to head the organisation since its birth in South Africa 10 years ago.
“SADC victory” said the Business Day in a front-page headline, referring to the 15-member Southern African Development Community which backed her candidacy.
“First female AU boss” was a front-page teaser in The Star daily, with the inside story headlined “Dlamini-Zuma finally pips Ping to AU post”.
Local radio stations interrupted scheduled programming late Sunday to break the news of Dlamini-Zuma’s election. Her election also dominated radio talk shows Monday morning.
Her victory ends a six-month impasse over the job, which had divided the continent.
Her former husband, South African President Jacob Zuma, was one of the first to offer his congratulations after the vote.
