The government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday announced progress in the Azimio leader Raila Odinga’s quest for the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson.
Taking to his X account, the Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei disclosed the government's plan to submit the former Prime Minister's Curriculum Vitae to the commission for consideration.
Sing'Oei went ahead to share images of Odinga's resume and captioned it, “All set to go!” signifying advancement in Raila's bid for the top continental role.
Odinga’s application, resume, and other documents were translated and submitted in the six AU languages for formal admission to AU candidacy.
According to the AUC election rules, candidates must translate the application documents and resume into French, English, Kiswahili, Arabic, Portuguese and Spanish before submission.
President William Ruto’s administration initially pledged to wholly support Raila Odinga’s candidature and ensure he secures the highly coveted seat.
The plans to submit the documents come hardly a month after the Orange Democratic Movement party leader held a joint presser with Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi on the progress of the AU Commission candidature.
During the presser, Mudavadi thanked Odinga for the fruitful meeting and progressive discussion and formally announced the government’s endorsement of Odinga’s candidacy.
"We have no doubt the candidate will pursue excellence in line with the continent’s collective aspirations of Africa we want in 2063 as framed in the AU’s development framework of Agenda 2063,” Mudavadi stated.
Meanwhile, the latest announcement comes amidst political mayhem within Odinga's Azimio coalition. The unrest in the opposition followed President Ruto's nomination of three ODM leaders to his cabinet.
The nomination sparked division within Azimio with a section of the leaders endorsing Wiper party's Kalonzo Musyoka as the new opposition coalition leader.
While defending the move to appoint Kalonzo as the Azimio leader, Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni Leader Raila Odinga was busy campaigning for the AUC chairperson position.
"We want to thank our leader Raila Odinga who has led our Coalition successfully since its formation. We know his quest for AUC leadership will enter a critical stage starting next week and we wish him luck as he prepares to take on the continental duties," Kioni explained.
