Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has been eliminated in his bid to become the next Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC). 

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 is the only candidate left in the election, allowing him to inch closer to becoming the seventh African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson since its establishment in 2002. The other candidate, Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar, finished last.

This does not mean that he has lost the election. He still has a narrow chance of returning to the contest if Youssouf fails to win a two-thirds majority. This would open the window for Raila to rejoin the race.

Africa Union

An aerial shot of delegates during the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State & Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. PCS

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 Willaim 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.

Raila sought to replace Moussa Faki, who served for two terms. Raila would 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. 

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.

Candidates for deputy AUC chairperson include Salah Francis (Algeria), Selma Malika (Algeria), Mohamed Fathi (Egypt), Hana Morsy (Egypt), Najat Elhajjaji (Libya), and Latifa Akharbach (Morocco).