By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini
Mahamoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti has been elected as the new Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, following a hard-fought election that took five rounds of voting.
Youssouf emerged victorious after defeating Kenya’s Odinga Odinga in the fourth round, which marked the end of a competitive race that had observers initially predicting Odinga’s win.
Youssouf’s election means he will succeed Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad, who completed two terms at the helm of the AU Commission. Mahamat’s tenure, which lasted eight years, was marked by significant efforts to push for deeper integration across the African continent.
The race for the AU Commission’s top post was contentious, with Odinga, widely considered the favorite, leading early on in the first round of voting.
However, the momentum shifted as the election progressed. Despite a strong start, Odinga saw his support wane in later rounds, even after the third candidate, from Madagascar, dropped out of the race.
The turning point came when Odinga, during his speech, spent a significant portion of his allotted time—three minutes out of the five allowed—detailing the history of Pan-Africanism and African solidarity.
This left him with little time to present his vision for the AU, and the electronic timer cut him off before he could finish.
In contrast, Youssouf delivered a more concise and convincing vision, which ultimately swayed the voters in his favor.