ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who appeared destined to replace Moussa Faki Mahamat, lost to little known Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf in the race for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson post.
Youssouf won the hotly contested race which demanded seven rounds of voting in order to reach the required two thirds threshold of 33 votes after Odinga dropped out in the sixth round with only 21 votes.
The vote was held immediately after Moussa Faki Mahamat and his team’s term of office came to an end this afternoon, allowing the incoming African Union President Jose Lourenco of Angola to administer the election of the new commission at the 38th Ordinary Session of the Heads of State and Government of the AU here in Addis Ababa.
In fact, ahead of the election, commentators had described Odinga as having name recognition across the African continent, but Youssouf having the contact book.
Kenya is reported to have sent over 100 government officials to the summit to lobby and witness Odinga’s coronation.
Madagascar’s AU Commission candidate Richard Randriamandrato dropped out after the third round leaving Odinga and Youssouf to fight it out.
Three candidates from Egypt, Morocco and Algeria were to fight it out for the position of Deputy Chairperson of the AUC.
The first round saw Algeria’s Salma Malika Haddadi and Morocco’s Latifa Akharbach neck-on-neck with 21 votes each, whilst Egypt Dr. Hanan Morsy receiving only six votes.
Dr Morsy withdrew her candidacy after this round, allowing the two to fight it out.
