African Union Commission elects new chairman

The leaders of African Union countries have elected Djibouti’s foreign minister, Mahmoud Youssouf, as the chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission, and to replace Moussa Faki of Chad, who has held the position since 2017.

Penpushing reports that Youssouf was elected on Saturday during the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which was attended by African leaders, while with his election, Youssouf will serve a a four-year term

The new chairman defeated the Kenya’s former prime minister, Raila Odinga, and Madagascar’s former foreign minister, Richard Randriamato at the keenly contested election, having won the election in the seventh round with 33 votes after Odinga was eliminated.

Penpushing further reports that all 55 member states participated in the election except the six countries suspended from membership, and henceforth, Youssouf will now head the African Union (AU’s) secretariat and is responsible for implementing union policies and decisions.

The outcome of the election is, however, considered as is a huge blow t Odinga, who had rallied support from both domestic and international allies, while it is recalled that before the elections, his campaign team had bragged that he had support from at least 21 countries.

Penpushing also reports that Odinga supported by Kenyan President William Ruto, however, campaigned across the continent and joined the president on international trips to rally support from other African leaders.

The elections earlier saw Odinga with early lead, having the highest votes in the first round of the poll, but dropped to second in the third round with 20 votes, paving way for Youssouf winning the round with 23 votes, whole Richard Randriamandrato dropped out of the race with 5 votes.

Penpushing reports that in same vein Youssouf won the fourth round with 25 votes, while Odinga had 21, however, in this round, there was one spoilt vote and two abstentions, and in the fifth round, Youssouf won with 26 votes and equally secured 26 votes in the sixth round, while Odinga received 22.

The development was not enough to keep Odinga in the race, as the African Union(AU) election rule dictates that the candidate with fewer votes is withdrawn from the race if neither of the candidates obtains the majority required, and only the candidate with the highest vote proceeded to the next round and was declared the winner.

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