MACHARIA MUNENE: The AUC vote is fluid for Raila
However, his chances are not as high as they were months ago.
14h agoMACHARIA MUNENERealtime
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi/FILE
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi leaves for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Tuesday to lead last-minute campaigns for former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s AUC chair bid.
A statement from Mudavadi’s office said Raila’s victory will leverage Kenya’s position in the continent, and put the country at the helm of the key decision making organs in the continent “where he will be the amplifying voice and bargaining power of Africa.”
During the visit, Mudavadi will attend African Union’s (AU) 46th Session of the Executive Council to be held February 12-14, 2025 at the level of Foreign Ministers of AU Member States where they will elect the AUC commissioners.
The 46th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council, will precede the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of African Union Summit themed: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.”
President William Ruto is scheduled to attend the summit.
Other key meetings Mudavadi will attend include African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU CEVAWG), Changing the story on Malaria: A big push to deliver a Malaria-free Africa, and a high-level event on immunisation themed “Reaffirming Africa’s Commitment to Immunisation” alongside other sideline events.
Mudavadi will also accompany the Ruto when he chairs the meeting of the Committee of the African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC), and also when he gives a progress report to the Assembly on the AU Institutional Reforms as the Champion on the Institutional Reforms of the AU.
Africa’s heads of state are scheduled to pick Moussa Faki Mahamat’s successor during the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government, which will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 15 and 16.
Raila will face Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, and Madagascar’s former Foreign Affairs Minister Richard Randriamandrato in the elections.
The chairperson is elected by member states, excluding countries under military rule.
Out of 55 African countries, 48 AU states are eligible to vote. A candidate must garner a two-thirds majority of the votes cast.
The new AU chairman will be faced with the enormous task of tackling Africa’s problems ranging from high poverty levels, run away debt, insecurity, illiteracy and poor health services among others.
