AUC Chair: Some of the countries supporting Raila
Elections will be held on February 15, 2025
4h agoWILLIAM WANYOIKEInfographics
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi during a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 12, 2025/HANDOUT
As the curtains drop in the race to occupy the African Union Commission chairperson position, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has called on African leaders to vote for Raila Odinga.
Acknowledging that there are only a few days left before Saturday’s elections, Mudavadi said that as Kenyan leaders, their responsibility lies in ensuring Raila is fully backed.
“At this point, our responsibility from now until Election Day is to urge our counterparts from other nations to vote for Raila,” he said.
“We will not rest until we ensure that all nations pledge their votes to Raila.”
The Foreign Affairs CS stated that so far, 49 representatives from other African nations have since arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, adding that they have attained the quorum for the exercise.
In the spirit of diplomacy, Mudavadi said he had met briefly with Djibouti’s AUC chairman candidate, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.
He said Youssouf had the right to compete for the seat but stated that, as a patriotic Kenyan, he will continue campaigning for Raila.
Mudavadi expressed hope in Raila’s victory, adding that he is well suited to unite Africa.
A two-thirds vote is necessary for victory. Considering the 55 African Union member states, a two-thirds vote translates to 33 votes.
Under the AU rules, the voting is done by secret ballot and shall continue until one of the candidates obtains the two-thirds majority vote.
Raila will be battling it out with Youssouf and Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato.
Raila is considered the frontrunner. A source at Raila’s Nairobi secretariat confided to the Star that the Addis Ababa event has attracted immense interest from across the political divide.
Last week, Raila appeared confident of clinching the African Union Commission chairman’s seat in the first round.
Raila told journalists in Nairobi’s Eastleigh estate, during a tour of a shopping mall, that having done his Kenyan assignment, he is now well-prepared and “very” confident of winning.
“The campaigns have been successful. We have campaigned over the length and breadth of Africa, and we are sure we will get the votes from most countries of the continent,” Raila said.
