Raila Odinga’s bid for the AU Commission top job faced a new twist on Thursday as SADC urged its members to back one of their own, Madagascar.
The Southern African Development Community Executive Secretary Elias Magosi on Wednesday wrote to members urging them to vote for former Madagascar Foreign minister Richard Randriamandrato.
If the 16-member bloc heeds the call, it will be a huge blow to Raila’s bid as many of the countries that had promised their support are from the bloc.
Raila is also banking on the Anglophone vote bloc, most of them being SADC members.
In the letter dated February 12, Magosi said a meeting in Harare in August last year, the Council directed the SADC Committee of Ambassadors in Addis Ababa and the Office of the Permanent Representative to the AU to monitor the election, provide guidance on the way forward and encouraged all members to support to the shortlisted candidates from the region.
Magosi said Madagascar had written to the SADC secretariat requesting support of member states for their candidate, Randriamandrato.
“This letter, therefore, serves to encourage SADC member states to support Mr Richard J. RANDRIAMANDRATO, a candidate from our region, for the position of the AUC chairperson during the upcoming elections of Senior Leadership of the African Union Commission, in line with the August 2024 council decision stated above,” the letter said.
The letter was addressed to Angola, Botswana, Comoros, the DRC, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
However, member states voting is independent of their blocs.
Raila needs 33 votes to win in the first round from 49 AU states that will be voting for the chairperson and deputy.
Others such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Niger, Gabon and Sudan, suspended from the AU following military coups, will not vote.
Among the countries that were reported to have backed Raila that are also in SADC include Mauritius, Tanzania, the DRC, Angola, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Seychelles.
The communication came on the day of election of AUC commissioners in which Moses Vilakatin from Eswatini (Southern region) won the Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment post, while Lerato Mataboge of South Africa got the Energy and infrastructure position.
Mataboge garnered a massive 41 votes, against Cameroon’s Marie Nyakoko. Amb Bankole Adeoye of Nigeria (West Region) was elected commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, while Amb Amma A Twum-Amoah of Ghana (West Region) is the new commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development.
Meanwile Raila Odinga and PCS Musalia Mudavadi were on the last ditch to secure the African Union Commission chairmanship on Wednesday and Thursday.
Raila flew to Burundi on Wednesday and met President Evariste Ndayishimiye in Ngozi province, while Mudavadi — who is also the Foreign Affairs CS — met Morocco Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita in Addis Ababa.
The former Prime Minister will face Richard Randriamandrato from Madagascar and Mahamoud Youssouf from Djibouti in a highstakes contest.
They are seeking to replace Chad’s Moussa Faki, who has held the position since 2017.
The Raila-Ndayishimiye meeting concluded his AUC campaign after a series of meetings with leaders in Africa. He proceeded to Addis Ababa from Bujumbura.
“I concluded my campaign activities in Bujumbura, Burundi, today. I thank HE President Evariste Ndayishimiye for honouring me with a warm reception. As I head to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the final stretch, I solemnly thank you all for your unwavering support and prayers throughout the journey ofmy candidacy for the African Union Commission Chairmanship,” Raila said on X.
While neither of the sides’ communication said Burundi had committed to vote for Raila, a diplomatic source responded in affirmative.
Mudavadi’s meeting is part of the campaign activities he said he would be undertaking in Addis Ababa ahead of the 38th Ordinary Session of the AU Summit at the weekend.
The PCS on Tuesday said he would lead the last-minute campaigns as Raila’s win would leverage Kenya’s position in Africa.
Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing’Oei on Wednesday chaired a meeting with diplomats at the Kenya Mission on what he said will be “a consequential AU Heads of States Summit”.
On Thursday, Sing' Oei met the Raila campaign team to discuss the “AUC election strategy”.
Prof Makau Mutua was present.
