The outcome of the Executive Council Ministerial meeting has further tightened the race in which former Prime Minister Raila Odinga launched a bid to succeed Moussa Faki for the African Union Commission Chairperson job.
In the concluded meeting, the council gave the Eastern wing of the union the power to appoint the chairperson.
Subsequently, the Northern region will be tasked with producing the deputy chairperson while Western, Central and Southern regions will submit candidates for the remaining posts of six commissioners.
The council, however, that the two top positions should be occupied by two different genders meaning that if the elected chairperson is male, then his deputy must be female and vice versa.
"The Eastern region shall submit candidates for the position of the chairperson. The Northern region shall submit candidates for the position of the deputy chairperson," the council directed.
"Both regions can submit male and female candidates. The gender of the elected Chairperson will determine the gender of the Deputy Chairperson to be elected."
The council had embarked on a high-level meeting in mid-March ahead of the February 2025 elections to consider the report on the preparation for the election of senior leadership.
The ministers were expected to discuss the modalities of regional rotation and gender parity for fair distribution of the leadership.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga had expressed his interest in ascending to the chairperson seat and subsequently kicked off a campaign for votes. The elections are often carried out through secret ballot.
So far, Raila's bid has received backing from international leaders including former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and his political foe President William Ruto.
Kenyans.co.ke had earlier broken down the requirements expected of the former Prime Minister in order to qualify for the job which include a Master's Degree, relevant experience, fluency in at least one AU language, and proof of transformational leadership.
The Master’s Degree must be in Law, International Relations, Economics, Diplomacy, Management, Business Administration, Political Science, Social Sciences or a closely related field from a recognised institution.
In mid-February, Ruto formed a committee to boost Raila's chances of winning the seat and even visited Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to drum up support.
The committee is financed through the exchequer.
