KHARTOUM, Jan. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- The competition over chairmanship of the African Union (AU) reached an impasse Monday as African leaders convened in the capital of Sudan, whose efforts to obtain the post has suffered an obvious setback.

    The sixth AU summit is due on Monday to choose a new member state to chair the 53-nation regional bloc.

    Sudan is ambitious to win since the AU tradition allows the host country of the summit to automatically take over the chairmanship until the next session. But Chad, which in the past month involved in border clashes with Sudan, has openly opposed Sudan.

    An anonymous source said closed-door discussions on the next AU presidency by African leaders have been brought into a stalemate, with participants inconsistent on whether to vote on the issue.

    The source said that Sudan had opposed to a vote, citing unfitting times, which made the possibility of a speedy conclusion on the issue slim.

    Chad and some civil societies are arguing against Sudan's taking over of the chair, due to recent dispute between the two countries in Sudan's conflict-ridden Darfur region. Enditem