New Twist in AUC Chair Bid as Another Country Joins Race, Two Others Pull Out

The race for the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson which includes Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga as the Kenyan candidate for the post has taken a new twist following the changes in the number of countries that have fronted their candidates.

In the changes, Seychelles and Somalia, who had initially announced that they would be fronting candidates, have pulled out of the race while the Republic of Mauritius has joined the race.

The changes were captured in a letter by the Embassy of the Republic of Mauritius in Addis Ababa and Permanent Mission to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Acting as the Dean of the East Africa Region, the Embassy presented its compliments to the African Union Commission in regard to the submission of candidatures from the region.

In the letter seen by The Kenya Times (TKT), the East African region countries named to have officially fronted candidates are Djibouti, Kenya, and Mauritius.

AUC Chairperson Bid

“The Embassy of the Republic of Mauritius in Addis Ababa and Permanent Mission to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, as Dean of the East Africa Region, presents its compliments to the African Union Commission (Office of the Legal Counsel) and, with reference to its Note BC/OLC/217/15165.24 dated 06 May 2024 regarding the submission of candidatures from the East Africa Region for the post of Chairperson of the Commission through the Regional Dean, has the honour to herewith hand deliver this day the candidatures of: The Republic of Djibouti; The Republic of Kenya; and The Republic of Mauritius,” read the letter in part.

Also Read: Govt Gives Update on Raila’s AUC Chair Bid as Elections Near

In addition, the letter said that any further candidatures submitted to the Regional Dean will be hand delivered to the Office of the Legal Counsel before the deadline of 6 August 2024, at 5 pm EAT.

As per the schedule of the AU elections calendar, the deadline for the submission of the regional nominations to the AU Commission is August 6, 2024.

“The Embassy of the Republic of Mauritius in Addis Ababa and Permanent Mission to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, as Dean of the East Africa Region, avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the African Union Commission (Office of the Legal Counsel) the assurances of its highest consideration,” the letter adds.

Raila’s Bid Officially Submitted

The new development comes after the Government of Kenya provided an update on the bid by its candidate Raila Odinga’s AUC Chairperson bid as the February 2025 election approaches.

Also Read: Why AUC Chair Moussa Faki is in Kenya Amid Raila’s Bid to Replace Him

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary (PS) Korir Sing’oei on Friday shared an update on July 26 through a post on his X official account said “all is set” for Raila to vie for the position of chairperson of AUC.

At the same time, the PS shared the front page of Raila’s Curriculum Vitae (CV) submitted in both English and Spanish languages, which was among the requirements that all interested candidates were to submit.

The AUC chairperson candidates were supposed to submit to their CV along with vision statements outlining how they intend to advance the transformative agenda of the African Union, and to address the existing and emerging challenges facing the continent.

On March 15, 2024, the AU Executive Council ratified a decision to have Eastern Africa region produce the next chairperson while the Deputy Chairperson will be elected from Northern Africa.

The elections to find the next AUC chair job will take place in 2025 during the African Union Summit when Chad’s Moussa Faki, the current chairperson, will exit after his two-terms. 

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