Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf wins AU top job

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 AFRICAN UNION 

Djibouti's foreign minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has won a highly competitive and strategically significant African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship race.

He beat his main rival, former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, by a margin of 11 votes on the seventh round of voting in the election held on Saturday (February 15).

This was during the 38th AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia held amid war in the eastern part of the DR Congo where the M23 rebels are fighting the nation’s army.

However, Odinga withdrew from the race in the sixth round after polling 22 votes to Youssouf’s 26.

Madagascar's former foreign affairs minister Richard Randriamandrato was also in the race that saw a total of 49 countries vote to replace Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad.

Youssouf said shortly after being elected the fifth AUC chairperson that he was “deeply honoured”, and thanked Odinga and Randriamandrato for their “dedication and vision”.

“Together, we will work towards a united and prosperous Africa. I pledge to serve with integrity and commitment for the betterment of our continent,” he said on social media platform X.

The AUC chairman will serve for a four-year term, renewable once.

The chairman works as the chief executive officer, legal representative of the AU and the commission’s chief accounting officer.

The chairperson’s functions include overall responsibility for the commission’s administration and finances, promoting and popularizing the AU’s objectives and enhancing its performance, consulting and coordinating with key stakeholders like member states and Development Partners, among others.

The role also includes appointing and managing AUC staff and acting as a depository for all AU treaties and legal instruments.