Kenya’s former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, has broken his silence following his loss in the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson race.
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the Foreign Affairs Minister for Djibouti emerged as the winner during the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union on February 15, 2025, in the race that he was up against Odinga and Richard Randriamandrato, former Foreign Affairs Minister for Madagascar.
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Speaking following the outcome, Odinga conceded defeat and congratulated Mahmoud for his win.
“As it is now, we did not succeed. They say that we must strengthen democracy in the African continent and therefore I am myself conceding defeat. I want to use this as an example of strengthening democracy in our continent and therefore I want to wish my competitor Ali Youssouf all the best we wish him success in all his undertaking,” he said.
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“We also want to thank all those member countries who voted for me. I also want to thank those who did not vote for me because in doing so they exercised their democratic rights, that’s how democracy should work in a continent.”
Raila speaks after AUC loss
When asked if countries within the East African Community (EAC) voted for him, Odinga said that he was not aware as the elections were through a secret ballot. He, however, maintained that he was confident “most of his friends” voted for him.
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On if he was prepared for a loss Raila said, “When you go to a contest, there are two outcomes, you can win and you can loose so this is one of them and I am not bitter I am very happy indeed and very available to offer services to the continent in another capacity.”
The Kenya Times live updates of the AUC Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson elections on Saturday, February 15
The AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government conducted elections to appoint the AUC Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, as well as appointed five members of the Peace and Security Council, among other agendas of the 38th Ordinary session, which commenced on Saturday.
6:09 pm EAT: Djibouti wins AUC elections
Djibouti’s Mahmoud Youssouf wins the AUC chairmanship after securing the 2/3rds majority in the 7th round.
As the lone candidate, Mahmoud secured the 33 votes needed to be the next AUC Chairperson.
6:01 pm EAT: Raila Odinga eliminated after Round 6
Djibouti – 26, Kenya- 22, Spoiled – 0, and Abstinence – 1.
Odinga eliminated after dropping out of the race.
5:52 pm EAT: Round 5
Kenya’s Raila Odinga gets 21, against Djibouti’s 26, and 2 abstentions.
5:45 pm EAT: Djibouti wins round 4
Djibouti wins round 4 with 25 against Kenya’s 21, 1 spoilt while 2 abstained.
Raila loses round three to Djibouti
Djibouti wins round three with 23 against Kenya’s 20 and Madagascar’s 5.
Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato kicked out of the race.
5:34 pm EAT: Raila Odinga wins round two
Raila Odinga wins round with 22 votes against Djibouti’s 19 and Madagascar’s 7.
5:27 EAT: Raila win first round
Kenya’s AUC candidate Raila Odinga has won the first round of voting with 20 votes against Djibouti’s 18, Madagascar’s 10 and while 1 abstained.
5:10 pm EAT: First round of voting commences.
Voting set to begin at 5 pm EAT: The voting process is set to get underway after all the three candidates have submitted their final pitches to the Heads of State and Government attending the closed session.
Closed door session: Following the lunch break, African leaders retreat for a closed-door session to deliberate on critical issues facing the continent, including the high-stakes election of the new AUC chairperson and Deputy Chairperson.
This session will not be televised, and each Head of State will only be accompanied by two people, traditionally the Foreign Minister and Permanent Representative to the AU.
1:50 pm EAT: African leaders convene for a family photo session following the end of the first plenary session. This is before they break for lunch.
1:40 EAT: Brief remarks by newly elected Heads of State and Government
John Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana addresses the Assembly on behalf of them.
This marks the end of the opening ceremony of the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU.
During the opening ceremony, different speakers addressed the Assembly with the outgoing AU Chairperson also handing over to the incoming one.
1:20 pm EAT: Barbados Prime Minister addresses the Assembly
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley makes her address after AUC Deputy Chairperson Monique Nsanzabaganwa invited her.
1:14 pm EAT: Launch of the AU theme of the year 2025
AUC Deputy Chairperson (DCP) Monique Nsanzabaganwa addresses the Assembly.
12:50 pm EAT: Handing over of AU leadership
Outgoing AU chairperson and Mauritania President, Cheikh Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, officially hands over to his successor João Gonçalves Lourenço, new AU Chairperson and Angola President.
Handing over statement by the outgoing AU Chairperson and acceptance statement by the incoming AU Chairperson follow.
12:45 pm EAT: Ambassador of the Union of Comoros to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU, Youssouf Mandoha Assoumani addresses the Assembly.
12:20 pm EAT: President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania Ould El Ghazouani addresses the Assembly.
12:10 am EAT: Secretary General of the League of Arab States addresses the Assembly before introducing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who also made his address.
11:45 am EAT: Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Antonio Gutterres addresses the Assembly.
Guterres reaffirms his support for Africa’s demand for two permanent seats at the UN Security Council, promising to continue pressing for this reform until it becomes a reality.
11:20 am EAT: Outgoing AUC Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat addresses the Assembly.
11:am EAT: Opening ceremony commences with AU anthem ahead of a welcoming statement by Prime minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed.
10:54 am EAT: Ordinary session commences
Outgoing AUC Chairperson Moussa Faki calls the 38th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government to order signaling its commencement at the Nelson Mandela Hall, Addis Ababa.
10:50 am EAT: African Head of States start arriving at AU Headquarters
10:40 am EAT: Ruto and Raila arrive at the AU headquarters
9:40 am EAT: Ruto and Raila spotted heading to the AU headquarters
President William Ruto and Raila Odinga have been spotted leaving their hotel heading to the AU Headquarters at the AUC Conference Center and Office Complex in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ahead of the AU Commission elections.
The two were seen boarding an executive vehicle designated ‘KENYA’.
9:00 am EAT: Arrival of delegates
Delegates have started arriving for the AU Heads of State summit.
What happens besides the voting
The Assembly will consider and make far-reaching decisions on various political and socio-economic areas to promote and advance the welfare and quality of life for the African citizenry.
Various reports are set to be considered by the Assembly.
They reports include Institutional reforms of the AU, State of peace and security in Africa and activities of the Peace and Security Council, Participation of the AU at the G20, Report of the Committee of Ten (C-10) Heads of State and Government on the Reform of the United Nations Security Council and Presentation on Theme of the Year 2025 are also agenda items.
Other reports to be considered include AU High Level Committee in Libya, Heads of State and Government Committee on Climate Change, Implementation of Theme of the year 2024 on Education, Situation in Palestine, Draft legal instruments, Accelerating Access to Clean Cooking Solutions in Africa, Draft Declaration on the Situation in Haiti.
The Assembly will further consider the Adoption of the 2024 Declaration of the 6th Mid-Year Coordination meeting held in Ghana in July 2024 and the date and venue of the 7th Mid-Year Coordination meeting.
At the same time, a Report of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission will be considered among other agendas.
Once the above agenda areas are considered, the Assembly conduct the AUC Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson elections and appointment, alongside appointing five Members of the Peace and Security Council.
Step by step process of AUC Chairperson voting
In the election for the Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, and Commissioners, the voting process begins with all the candidates on the ballot.
Voting is conducted in three rounds until one of the candidates obtains at least two-thirds majority.
After Heads of state or their representatives vote thrice and the third ballot remains inconclusive without any candidate garnering the two-thirds majority, the next ballot is restricted to the two candidates who obtained the highest number of votes and the candidate with fewer votes is withdrawn.
Also Read: Has Raila Rival & Djibouti’s Candidate Dropped Out of AUC Race?
Where there are only two candidates initially and neither candidate obtains the majority required after the third ballot, the candidate with fewer votes is withdrawn and the remaining candidate proceeds to the next round.
If the remaining candidate fails to obtain the two-thirds majority required in that round, the Chairperson is required to suspend the election.
Also, where there is only one candidate initially and he or she fails to obtain the two-thirds majority required after the third ballot, the current Chairperson is required to suspend the election, and the deputy chairperson will assume the chairmanship on an interim basis until new elections are held.
In the event candidates drop from the race before the election and only one is left, he or she will still require two-thirds majority votes.
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