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So tight was the contest that the adhoc Committee of Eight Heads of State and Government that was tasked to break the impasse in January had recommended that new candidates be fielded when they failed to broker a deal on who between Dr Dlamini-Zuma and Ping should be at the helm of the AU secretariat after six months of trying.

To land the Commission chair, a candidate required two thirds of the votes from eligible member states. Only 51 of the AU’s 54 member states were allowed to vote this year as three members are under suspension after undergoing unconstitutional changes of governments. The three ineligible countries are Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Madagascar

Insiders said Dr Dlamini-Zuma had led Dr Ping throughout the three rounds of voting till the then incumbent dropped out after the third round in line with the rules of the contest.

Dr Dlamini-Zuma garnered 27 votes to Ping’s 24 in the first round 29 votes to 22 in the second round and 33 votes to 18 in the third round of voting at which point Dr Ping was forced to drop out leaving Dr Dlamini-Zuma  to vie for the two-thirds majority as a sole candidate in the fourth round.

She duly managed the feat after amassing 37 country votes, three above the threshold for outright victory.