Opposition chief Raila Odinga bid for Africa Union Commission chairmanship got a major boost on Friday after the AU Executive Council ratified a decision to have Eastern Africa produce the next chairperson.
In a unanimous vote during the 22nd Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council, the AU council also gave the deputy chairperson to Northern Africa.
In the arrangement, Central, Southern and Western Africa will flex muscles for the six slots for commissioners.
The decision is in accordance with the Statute of the AU Commission, the Rules of Procedure of the African Union policy organs and the decisions of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi who has been pushing for the adoption of the decision termed it a major breakthrough for East Africa.
“This is a major breakthrough for the Eastern Africa region to present candidates for the position of chairperson of the AUC,” Mudavadi said.
“It is now clear that Raila Odinga will be in the race for the AU Commission Chairperson. Effectively, there are no more technical or legal hurdles preventing Kenya from submitting its candidate.”
Eastern Africa was widely expected to provide chairmanshio given that the other regions had occupied the top seat.
Previous chairpersons are Cote D’Ivoire Amara Essy (2002 - 2003), Mali’s Oumar Konare (2003 -2008), South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini (2012 - 2017) and Faki (2017 - 2025).
Raila will however contend with competition from former Somalia Foreign Minister Fawzia Yusuf Adam who has also declared her candidature for the coveted position.
Adam previously served as Deputy Prime Minister from November 2012 to January 2014, making her the first woman from Somalia to be nominated for this prestigious position.
President William Ruto recently indicated that the countries in the East Africa Community (EAC) had inked a deal to front only one candidate.
"The chair of the AU is coming up next year as the term of our chair Moussa Faki comes to an end. It is going to be the turn for East Africa to provide the chair of the African Union," Ruto said.
"We have sat down in the spirit of the East African Community, we have consulted as heads of state from the East African Community and we have agreed to sponsor one candidate as East Africans."
was speaking yesterday when he opened the 3rd sitting of the 3rd session of the fifth East African Legislative Assembly.
EAC currently has eight members each with a voting right at the AU.
They include; Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Federal republic of Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This means whoever Community will rally behind is sure of at least eight votes going into the race.
The AUC chairperson position is set to become vacant next year, with the incumbent, Chad's Moussa Faki, concluding his two-term tenure. Elections will be held in February 2025.
In a statement, Mudavadi said Kenya will work closely within the 14 member-state Eastern Africa region to build consensus around its candidate.
“These efforts are ongoing and will continue, to include all the other regions to ensure that the opportunity for electing effective leadership of the AUC provides a platform for uniting the entire continent,” he added.
The former Prime Minister with a long-standing commitment to pan-Africanism could make smooth sailing to the top continental job, leveraging his international and regional connections.
To demonstrate his rich regional network, Raila made the announcement in the presence of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Obasanjo is AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa region.
The former President lavished Raila with praise, terming him the only candidate with the right credentials for the job.
“The AU, if it will serve the purpose that it is meant to serve, requires the right person at the right time and this is the time that we in Africa, and walking with the rest of the world, need to get AU to be what it should be,” Obasanjo said.
“We believe that people who have held the positions of head of government like at PM level will be able to knock on the door of incumbent PMs, Presidents without much ado. Such people would probably be the right persons armed with other attributes at this particular time.”