Raila Odinga loses AU Chair seat to Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf

Raila Odinga, Kenya’s nominee for African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, lost the election in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Raila won the first two rounds of voting, but lost the following three to Djibouti candidate Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.

Raila received 20 votes in the first round, 18 from Mahamoud, and 10 from Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato. There was one abstention vote.

In the second round, Raila garnered 22 votes, Mahamoud received 19, and Randriamandrato received 7. One country abstained from the second round as well.

The former Kenyan Prime Minister, however, fell short in the third round, getting 20 votes, losing to Mahamoud, who moved to first place with 23 votes, and Randriamandrato, who came in third with 5 votes.

There was still one abstention, and Randriamandrato was eliminated from the contest, leaving Raila to face Mahamoud.

Mahamoud retained his lead in the fourth round, with 25 votes to Raila’s 21. There was one spoilt vote, and one nation abstained.

In the fifth round, Mahamoud received 26 votes, Raila received 21, and one nation abstained.

Mahamoud maintained his lead into the sixth round, with 26 votes, while Raila received 22 votes and one abstention.

Raila was then removed from the ballot, leaving Mahamoud as the sole contender in the seventh round in an attempt to secure two-thirds of the votes.

Mahamoud won the AUC Chair seat after garnering 33 votes, constituting the required two-thirds, in round 7, and is now set to replace the outgoing Moussa Faki of Chad who has held the position for 8 years.