Kenya’s candidate for the Africa Union Commission chairperson, Raila Odinga, has failed to
clinch the AUC’s top seat following a heated race that saw Djibouti’s Mahmoud Youssouf claim
the position.

Raila managed to secure two rounds with a win while falling short in three rounds.
In the first round, Odinga garnered 20 votes, Youssouf came second with 18 votes, while Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato got 10 votes.

Odinga came first in round two with 22 votes, defeating Mahmoud, who secured 19 votes, while Randriamandrato fell third with seven votes. However, in both the first two rounds, Odinga failed to meet the two-thirds threshold, pushing the voting to round three.

Mahmoud Youssouf emerged the winner in round three, getting 23 votes, while Odinga came second with 20 votes. Richard Randriamandrato came a distant third with only five votes, while there was one abstention.

The fourth round was not lucky for Raila Odinga as he got 21 votes, while Mahmoud Youssouf won the round with 25 votes. There was a record of one spoiled vote and one abstention. Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato withdrew from this round as per the rules of the election process.

The fifth round results were in favor of Mahmoud Youssouf with 26 votes, Raila Odinga with 21 votes, and two abstentions.

In the sixth round, Youssouf garnered 26 votes, while Odinga got 22 votes, with one abstention recorded. As per the rules, Odinga had to drop out of the race for failing to lead in three consecutive rounds, leaving Youssouf to proceed alone to the seventh round.

It was all smiles for Mahmoud Youssouf as he won the seventh round with a record 33 votes, surpassing the two-thirds requirement. He will now proceed to replace Mahamat Faki, who led the Commission for eight years.