Raila Odinga has lost his bid for the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairmanship. The February 15th elections were held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where Djibouti’s Mahamoud Ali Youssouf won.
Raila started strong, winning the first two rounds. In the first round, he got 20 votes, Mahamoud got 18, and Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato got 10. One country abstained.
In the second round, Raila’s lead grew to 22 votes, Mahamoud had 19, and Randriamandrato had 7. One nation abstained again.
Things changed in the third round. Raila’s votes dropped to 20, while Mahamoud took the lead with 23. Randriamandrato, who got only 5 votes, was eliminated.
Now it was a two-man race. Mahamoud kept his momentum, getting 25 votes in the fourth round while Raila got 21. One vote was spoilt, and one country abstained.
In the fifth round, Mahamoud increased his lead with 26 votes. Raila stayed at 21. The sixth round was almost the same—Mahamoud held 26 votes, Raila got 22, and one country abstained.
At this point, Raila was eliminated. In the final round, Mahamoud was the only candidate left. He secured 33 votes, reaching the required two-thirds majority.
With this win, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf will replace Chad’s Moussa Faki, who has served as AUC Chair for eight years.
By Vivian K.