Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has been eliminated in his bid to become the next Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC). This ends his quest to become Africa's top boss.
In the vote conducted on Saturday, February 15, Raila was narrowly eliminated from his bid to replace Moussa Faki in the sixth round. This is the second loss for Kenya at the regional body.
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti has been voted the seventh African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson since its establishment in 2002. The other candidate, Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar, finished last.
He won the elections in the seventh round after Raila was eliminated. Youssouf garnered 33 votes to clinch the seat for the next four years.
Youssouf sought to replace Moussa Faki, who served for two terms. Youssouf will serve for a term of four years, with the possibility of re-election for one additional term for a maximum of two terms or eight years in total.
Before the elections, Raila’s campaign team had indicated he had support from at least 21 countries. However, he took an early lead, garnering 20 votes in the hotly contested election, before making it through to the second, third, fourth, and fifth rounds.
Backed by President William Ruto, Raila campaigned through the continent and accompanied the head of state on various foreign trips where other African leaders were invited to drum up support. Before the elections, Raila’s campaign team had indicated he had support from at least 21 countries.
How the election was done
In round three, Raila dropped to second with 20 votes, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf won the round with 23 votes, and Richard Randriamandrato dropped out of the race with 5 votes.
Round four was no different, with Youssouf winning with 25 votes, Raila had 21 votes, one spoilt vote reported, and two abstentions.
The fifth round offered hope for Raila, and he earned 21 votes, with Youssouf gaining one more to 26 votes. No spoilt votes were reported, but there were two abstentions.
In what became the last blow for Raila, the sixth round, Youssouf once again took the lead with 26 votes, with Raila jumping to 22. This was not enough to keep Raila in the race.
Under the African Union Commission election rules, a candidate is withdrawn from the race if neither candidate obtains the majority required. The candidate with fewer votes is withdrawn, and the remaining candidate proceeds to the next round.
This is the second time Kenya has lost its bid to lead the continent. In 2017, Kenya’s Amina Mohamed garnered 16 votes in the first round against Moussa Faki’s 14. The remaining votes were split among the other candidates.
Faki was elected in the seventh round with 38 votes, surpassing the required threshold. Kenya struggled to secure support from its EAC neighbours, Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi.
