Boost for Raila’s AUC bid after Somalia, Seychelles pull out as submissions closed

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has received yet another boost in his African Union Commission race, after Somalia and Seychelles reportedly pulled out their candidates from the race as the deadline for submissions closed.

Mr. Odinga will however contend with new entrants in the race, so far including Mauritius and Madagascar who are said to have submitted their candidates for the positions.

After opening their doors for candidates to apply for the positions of the Chairperson, the Deputy Chairperson, and 6 Commissioner posts, the African Union Commission on Tuesday closed the application process, paving the way for the next phase of the elections slated for February 2025.

Reports from the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa indicate that by the end of the process, at least 4 key candidates had presented their bids, including Kenya’s Mr. Odinga, who is seeking to succeed the outgoing Chairperson Moussa Faki who hails from Chad, Djibouti candidate Mahmoud Ali Youssouf who is the current foreign affairs minister with a longstanding career as a diplomat, a candidate from Mauritius who seemed to jump into the fray late in the race, and another from the island of Madagascar who is also taking up the challenge.

President William Ruto took to his X platform on Tuesday evening to state that he had a productive discussion with the Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth on AU reforms and Kenya's bid for the Commission Chair, ostensibly seeking the backing of the nation which has reportedly picked a candidate.

Djibouti candidate Youssef was however seen to have started hitting the ground running with the campaigns, taking to his X platform to announce that he had come to Nairobi to seek advice from President Ruto, saying he would certainly work with him if elected.

Youssef had previously held a meeting with Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who is also the CS for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, in his office.

The ministry later put up a statement saying that Youssef was in Kenya for a courtesy call.

This comes as Mr. Odinga’s Capitol Hill office continued to buzz with activities, with the former premier holding a meeting with Germany's Ambassador to Kenya Sebastian Groth and the UK High Commissioner to Kenya Neil Wigan, saying the meeting focused on the recent developments and his AU commission candidacy.

On August 2nd, Mr. Odinga met AMISOM’s civilian chief of staff Kojo Brew Acquaisie to drum up support for his bid.

After the submissions, Mr. Odinga and the other candidates will face a 5-member panel of eminent Africans, who will further vet them to gauge their suitability before a televised interview where Africans will ask them questions.