Raila Odinga’s race for the African Union Commission chairmanship got a major impetus on Friday, August 9, 2024, after former Somalia’s foreign minister Fawzia Yusuf Adam threw her weight behind him.
Speaking to the press at Odinga’s Capitol Hill office in Nairobi, Fawzia said her decision to step down and support Raila was informed by the closeness shared by Somalia and Kenya.
“I was a candidate for the AUC; today I have decided to step down and support Raila Odinga in the spirit of Pan-Africanism and for Eastern Africa’s unity. I would like to support his candidacy and I am very pleased to do it,” Fawzia stated.
She added that Somalia and Kenya are sister countries which should be working together.
On his part, Odinga hailed the former foreign minister and deputy prime minister, stating that Africa’s unity was the only way the region could harness its potential.
“I am very grateful for my sister here for the generosity she has exhibited by accepting to step down in our favour, and she has also assured me that she’ll work together with me so that we can be able to bring this seat back home,” Odinga stated.
He called for the unity of Africa, stating that divisions should not be allowed along the lines of religion and language.
“We want Africa to unite and speak in one voice without considering that some are Christians, Muslims, francophones and anglophones,” Odinga urged.
Race for AUC chair
With Fawzia out of the picture, Odinga will have to square it out with three other contenders for the position from the Eastern Africa region.
These are Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssou, former Mauritius Foreign Minister Anil Kumarsingh Gayan, and Richard James Randriamandrato, a former Madagascar Foreign Minister.
The elections for the AUC chair position will be conducted in February 2025 during the summit.
The winning candidate must obtain at least two-thirds of the total votes by the heads of state present during the summit meeting.
In the case of a tie, the vote is retaken until a winner who gets a simple majority is announced.
The 2025 AUC chairperson will come from Eastern Africa while his deputy will automatically come from North Africa. With the current line-up of contestants, a female deputy chair will be from the North.
The AUC, as the Secretariat of the African Union, is charged with executing executive functions and entails ten officials, among them a Chairperson, a Deputy Chairperson, eight Commissioners, and other staff members.
