Kenya’s veteran politician Raila Odinga, who this week officially launched his bid for the African Union Commission Chairmanship, now has the uphill task of convincing the majority of the African Union Members to vote for him.
Odinga will need a two-thirds majority vote to become the fifth Commission Chair, succeeding the incumbent Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, in the February 2025 AUC elections.The electorate is composed of heads of state of active members of the continental bloc.As the Kenyan candidate navigates the high-stakes race, he has the advantage of the support of all the East African Community Heads of State, as well as leaders from other countries such as Algeria, Angola, South Africa, and Nigeria among others.
“More to the endorsements from Heads of State, Raila’s wealth of experience will work to his advantage,” Vianney Shumbusho, who formerly worked as the Chief of Staff in the office of the Deputy Chairperson of the AU Commission, told the New Times.Shumbusho said that Odinga’s track record of transformative leadership during his tenure as the AU High Representative for Infrastructure Development, gives him an edge over his competitors.
By design, the next top executive of the AU must come from the East African region, which has not produced one ever since the bloc was reformed in 2002, which is why all the candidates in the race are from this sub-region.Other candidates are; Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, former Mauritius Foreign Minister Anil Kumarsingh Gayan and former Foreign Minister for Madagascar, Richard James Randriamandrato,While Odinga’s experience and colourful résumé are important, voting patterns from past AUC elections have shown that leaders mostly rally behind candidates from their various regional blocs.His agenda includes eight key priorities including; economic transformation, enhancing intra-African trade, Africa’s financial independence, championing gender equality, climate action, peace and security, agriculture transformation and continental integration. Shumbusho, prioritising peace and security as well as economic stability is key for the continent.
“There are a number of regions in Africa plagued by political instability and poverty. Based on his experience, I think Odinga has what it takes to tackle these issues which are well articulated in his agenda,” he said.
Apart from fronting Odinga as their candidate, Kenya is seemingly ‘putting her money where her mouth is’ and funding his campaign.”The Kenyan government is underwriting Odinga’s campaign and not just putting in financial resources, but also skilled personnel and technical resources from the Ministry of Foreign affairs,” Omore said.
President William Ruto, on 27 August, announced that Odinga’s Campaign Secretariat will be led by Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Singóei and former Kenyan Ambassador to the United States, Elkanah Odembo.It is not the first time that Kenya has fronted a candidate for the AUC top seat. In 2016, Kenya nominated the then Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed to contest for the chairperson of the AUC.
Rwanda has also backed Odinga’s candidacy. During the launch of his bid earlier this week in Nairobi, James Kabarebe, Rwanda’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs in charge of Regional Cooperation said he was the ideal candidate, adding that his name resonates not only within Kenya but across the African continent.
