Nairobi, February 15- Djibouti’s Mahamoud Ali Youssouf has been elected as the new African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson after defeating Kenya’s Raila Odinga in a tightly contested race held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Raila started strong, winning the first two rounds. In the initial vote, he secured 20 votes, while Mahamoud received 18 and Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato got 10. One country abstained. Raila extended his lead in the second round with 22 votes, followed by Mahamoud with 19 and Randriamandrato with 7, while one nation abstained again.
However, momentum shifted in the third round when Mahamoud took the lead with 23 votes against Raila’s 20. Randriamandrato, who only managed 5 votes, was eliminated. The fourth round saw Mahamoud widen his lead to 25 votes, while Raila trailed with 21. One vote was spoilt, and another nation abstained.
Mahmoud maintained his dominance in the subsequent rounds, securing 26 votes in both the fifth and sixth rounds, while Raila received 21 and 22 votes, respectively. One nation abstained in each round.
With Raila eliminated after the sixth round, Mahamoud stood as the sole candidate in the seventh round, where he secured 33 votes—meeting the two-thirds majority required for victory. He will now succeed Moussa Faki of Chad, who has served as AUC Chair for the past eight years.
