Race against time for Raila as AUC campaigns set to kick in

The formal unveiling of Raila Odinga's candidature for the chairperson of the African Union Commission marks the start of the former prime minister's official campaigns ahead of the February 2025 elections.

The Azimio leader needs significant backing from both Anglophone and Francophone-speaking countries, who make up two-thirds of the member states of the AU, to secure the position and replace outgoing chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.

Until late Wednesday, Odinga's African Union Commission chairmanship secretariat heads Korir Singóei and Elkanah Odembo were busy formulating a membership committee that will include representatives from all five regions in Africa.

It is a race against time as Raila Odinga's campaign team has only six months to campaign, with the African Union Commission chairperson election slated for February 2025.

"The assignment we are called upon to undertake at the African Union is the work of all Africans for all Africans and a noble cause to bring our people and nations in touch with the glorious future we all deserve,” President Ruto said.

The AU Assembly will elect the new chairperson of the African Union Commission through a secret ballot at the 38th AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The former prime minister, who brings the experience of having been the former AU High Representative for Infrastructure Development (2018–2023), is facing off against Djibouti's former foreign minister Mohamoud Ali Youssouf, Anil Gayan of Mauritius, who was a former foreign minister, and Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar, who was also a former foreign minister.

Odinga needs two-thirds of the votes, representing at least 32 countries of the 55 member states, to win.

According to Odinga's joint head of secretariat and principal secretary for foreign affairs, Korir Singóei, Raila has backing from Francophone-speaking countries owing to his previous diplomatic engagements, mainly in West Africa.

"He mediated the post-electoral challenges in Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal,” said Sing’oei.

Diplomatic affairs analyst Ahmed Hashi added, “What is important is to look at the context of the African continent and the states and how we expect they're going to behave towards Kenya's candidate, Mr Odinga."

Even as Odinga prepares to hit the ground running, he knows all too well that the race is tough, and he needs every bit of support in view of the fact that geopolitics and other regional factors could determine the next chair.

With the ongoing formation of his campaign secretariat, Raila has a few days to rest before embarking on the most critical part of his AU Commission chairmanship bid, which will be reaching out to other African countries to support his bid.