Algeria is once again sinking into the abyss of corruption and influence peddling on a continental scale. After its bitter and humiliating failure to obtain a seat on the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, Algerian regime, known for its obscurantist methods, urgently dispatched its President to Ethiopia. The aim was to save face by relaunching indecent lobbying, where petrodollars replace diplomacy.
Since the arrival of the Algerian President in the Ethiopian capital, the vilest methods of Algerian diplomacy are once again at work: vote buying, opaque promises and behind-the-scenes pressure.
Aware of the decline of its influence within the African continent, the Algerian regime is renewing its “suitcase” policy in order to reverse an election that is nevertheless fundamental for the reform of the African Union. This disguised blackmail only further discredits a country that persists in instrumentalizing African institutions for purely ideological and hegemonic purposes.
Also on the eve of the election of the Vice-President of the African Union (AU) Commission and in the midst of the election process for the new member of the AU Peace and Security Council for North Africa, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced a voluntary donation of one million dollars to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
With this practice, Algeria opts for the diplomacy of blackmail and compromise, instead of adopting win-win partnerships with its African neighbors. This behavior, which is no longer the case, illustrates the panic of a regime losing credibility, which no longer has any arguments to put forward other than the purchase of support with billions of dollars diverted from the resources of the Algerian people.
This irresponsible attitude undermines the very foundations of the African Union, transforming it into a mere playground for the selfish interests of the Algerian regime.
By attempting to rig an electoral process of capital importance for continental governance, Algeria will deal a fatal blow to the credibility of the African Union. Rather than acknowledging its failure and adopting a constructive stance, it persists in a path of systematic corruption and dubious maneuvers, thus accentuating its discredit on the African and international scene.
