![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Regions_of_the_African_Union.png/640px-Regions_of_the_African_Union.png&w=640&q=50)
Regions of the African Union
Five geographical regions of the African Union / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The member states of the African Union (AU) are divided into five geographical regions.[1]
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Regions_of_the_African_Union.png/320px-Regions_of_the_African_Union.png)
Central
Eastern
Northern
Southern
Western
Note that Ceuta and Melilla in Northern Africa are parts of Spain.
When a principal organ of the United Nations allocates a certain number of seats to the African Group, such as on the UN Security Council or the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the African Union distributes these seats based on these geographical regions[2] (however, even though Morocco was not a member of the African Union between 1984-2017, it was still eligible to be picked). States must apply to the Executive Council's Committee on Candidatures by March of the election year in order to become a candidate.[3] The Committee allocates seats roughly by proportion (for example, the Western Africa subregion usually gets the largest number of seats).[2]