Race for Commonwealth Secretary-General: Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey aiming to become second woman to occupy the position

International relations experts have tipped Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, as the likely successor to the outgoing Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland Baroness Scotland of the United Kingdom.

They attribute this to her experience, vision and dedication to service in the international community over time.

The election will take place at the 27th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Apia, the capital city of the Pacific Island nation of Samoa, from October 21 – 26.

Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who is a lawyer, a diplomat and a politician, is in the race with two other African candidates, namely Senator Joshua Setipa of Lesotho and Dr Mamadou Tangara of the Gambia.

She has received the endorsement of both President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and former President John Dramani Mahama.

The theme for the meeting is: “One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth”with an aim to strengthen “resilient democratic institutions upholding human rights, democracy, and the rule of law”.

It also focuses on combating climate change in particular and its impact on small states and island states .

The meeting will be the first full Commonwealth summit held since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 and the first to be presided over by King Charles III as Head of the Commonwealth .

Madam Ayorkor Botchwey’s nomination by President Akufo-Addo as Ghana’s candidate follows an understanding among members of the Commonwealth that its next Secretary-General would come from Africa.

Nominating her, President Akufo-Addo said: “I have strong confidence in Foreign Minister Botchwey to lead our aspiration for renewal and for building future-looking resilient and thriving economies, through community cooperation and action, as underscored at Kigali, Rwanda, during the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).”

After announcing her candidature early this year, Madam Ayorkor Botchwey, has carried her main plans and priorities for the job of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth to Heads of State and Governments of Commonwealth Member States across the globe.

Touching on why she wants to be the next Commonwealth Secretary-General, Madam Botchwey declared that: “I’ve put myself forward because I care about the Commonwealth and its diverse peoples; and I’ve the leadership skills and record, networks and character for getting tough things done.

“The Commonwealth has enormous potential yet to be realised for its 2.68 billion citizens that could make it the most consequential organisation after the UN. I’m motivated to see that vision realised.”

She explained that as a diplomat of long-standing, she had led or been part of landmarks in diplomacy and international relations with concrete outcomes.

For instance, during Ghana’s tenure at the UN Security Council (2021-23), she led the effort for the unanimous passage of Resolution 27/19 in November 2023 to guarantee, for the first time, UN funding for Africa-led peace support operations.

“As Chair of ECOWAS Council of Ministers, I played an active role in the efforts to prevent coups in the region, and reform the institution’s Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance,” she pointed out.

“I engaged military leaders, who’d taken power unconstitutionally, to develop roadmaps towards returning to constitutional rule.

“I also led reforms of the ECOWAS Commission, introducing efficiencies and making huge savings that were re-directed to Community Programmes.

“I worked with colleague Ministers in Ghana to execute the ‘Year of Return’ and ‘Beyond the Return’ policies, yielding strong bonds, closer than ever before, with the African Union’s sixth region, the Caribbean, and Global Africa.”

Madam Botchwey also stated how she worked in concert with the G7 to address issues of international peace and security, democracy and the reform of the development co-operation framework.

“My capacity for leading teams to achieve transformative results would serve the Commonwealth well in realising the vision of a ‘New Commonwealth.’”

On her main plans and priorities for the job of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Madam Botchwey proposed six areas for repositioning the organisation to respond to the expectations of the hundreds of millions across the Commonwealth for a decent and fulfilling life.

These are on Democracy; Commonwealth Values and Realising the Democratic Dividend; and Trade and Investment; Youth, Education, Skills, Innovation and Start Ups.

The rest are on Climate Change, Small Island Developing States and Small States and Managing resources for an Effective Commonwealth Institution.

If successful, Madam Ayorkor Botchwey, will thus become the second African, after Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria and also the second woman to occupy the position.

Ghana, under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo, is hopeful and looking forward to the election of Madam Ayorkor Botchwey, which will bring honour to the nation in particular and Africa in general.

The Commonwealth is an international association of 56 member states , the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire from which it developed.

The Secretary-General is nominated by Commonwealth leaders and can serve a maximum of two terms of four years each.

GNA