President John Dramani Mahama has been elected by fellow African leaders as First Vice Chairperson of African Union at 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

A statement issued by the AU said the meeting also elected President Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi as Chairperson of the AU for 2026, taking over the rotating leadership from Angola’s President João Lourenço.

The composition of the new Bureau of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU for 2026 is as follows: Chairperson – Republic of Burundi (Central Region); First Vice Chairperson – Ghana (West Region); Second Vice Chairperson – Tanzania (East Region); Third Vice Chairperson – To be confirmed (North Africa Region); and Rapporteur – Angola (Southern Region).

Mr Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the AU Commission, in his address framed the summit around the 2026 theme of water and sanitation, describing access to water as a collective good that must promote both development and peace.

He noted that the meeting was taking place amid mounting geopolitical turbulence, persistent conflicts, institutional fragility and a resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government in parts of the continent.

Against the backdrop of weakening multilateralism and rising global polarisation, Mr Youssouf urged Member States to accelerate political and economic integration in line with the vision of Agenda 2063.

The two-day summit is being held on the theme: “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.”