Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Dr Korir Sing’oei has decried unfairness from the SADC members after the bloc’s move to endorse Madagascar’s candidate Richard Randriamandrato.
While addressing the media on Friday, February 14, Korir stated that technically Madagascar should not be on the ballot.
“First it is important to mention that this is the turn of a member of the Eastern region to be elected to chair the AU commission. Madagascar is in a unique place because it straddles both the Eastern region and the Southern region.
“From a technical standpoint, I think Madagascar should not be on the ballot with regard to the Eastern region because if elections it was the turn of the Southern Region they could still contest. It gives them unfavourable advantage but beyond that if you look technically at the letter by the Secretary General of SADC who is a Bureaucrat. The letter is dated the 12th of February merely 5 days to the election. The letter is addressed to foreign ministers. It tells foreign ministers that it kind of introduces the candidate as if nobody within SADC knows him,” Korir said.
Kenya Addresses SADC Regarding Endorsement of Madagascar’s Candidate
Korir further argued that the letter from SADC indicates there is insufficient time to hold a ministerial summit to endorse this decision. According to him, this means that the decision to support the Madagascar candidate will not be ratified at the Heads of State level and, therefore, does not represent an official endorsement of the candidate.
Further, the Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary stated that the letter from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to its member nations was simply a diplomatic gesture, not an official directive.
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He emphasized that it did not represent a formal endorsement of the candidate from Madagascar, but rather a customary request for regional support.
“In the end, the letter merely requests, out of courtesy, that the region supports their candidate and so to our minds we do not think that it will have any bearing,” added Korir.
Korir Says Government Not Taking Chances Following SADC’s Endorsement of Madagascar’s Candidate
However, Korir stated that the government of Kenya is not taking any chances and is actively engaging with regional partners to secure support.
He emphasized that despite previous assurances from SADC countries, Kenya is making further efforts to clarify the implications of the letter and any underlying motivations behind it.
“I did mention, in light of that letter, because we already have quite some assurances from SADC countries of their support. We are reaching out again to SADC countries to understand what motivations behind this letter could be,” he said.
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Foreign Affairs PS response comes a day after SADC through the Secretary General wrote to its 16 countries urging them to back Madagascar’s candidate Richard Richard Randriamandrato.
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