Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga will face off with three contenders in his bid for the African Union Commission’s top office, according to a final shortlist announced earlier this week.
The African Union had set August 6, as the deadline for candidates vying for eight senior AU Commission positions to submit their credentials.
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Odinga will run against Mahmoud Ali Youssouf from Djibouti, Anil Kumarsingh Gayan of Mauritius, and Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar for the position of AU Commission Chairperson. Elections are due in February 2025.
The four contenders seek to replace outgoing Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad, who is serving his second four-year term.
For the first time, no woman is seeking the AU Commission Chairperson’s position.
Somalia's former Foreign Minister, Fawzia Adam, who had expressed her interest in the seat, dropped out of the race.
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Six candidates have been shortlisted for the position of Deputy Chairperson, currently held by Monique Nsanzabaganwa of Rwanda.
These are Salah Francis Elhamdi and Salma Malika Haddadi of Algeria, Hanan Morsy and Mohamed Ahmed Fathi Edrees of Egypt, Najat Hajjaji of Libya, and Latia Akharbach of Morocco.
24 candidates have expressed interest for the four AU commissioner positions.
The final shortlist to be tabled before a Panel of Experts for vetting is an all-male contest, meaning the next deputy chairperson will be a female from Northern Africa.
The list will be subjected to vetting by a panel including Burundian academic Paul Ngarambe, Ethiopian diplomat Konjit SineGiorgis, Patrick Hayford of Ghana, and South Africa's Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko.
They will interview the candidates on their vision for Africa and assess their qualifications to lead the continental body. One of those qualifications is at least a post-graduate qualification.
How elections are conducted
The AU Commission elections will take place in February next year during the African Union Summit.
The AUC Chairperson is the Chief Executive Officer, the legal representative of the AU, and the Commission’s Chief Accounting Officer.
The Chairperson is elected by the assembly for a four-year term, renewable once.
Election is by secret ballot and a two-thirds majority of Member States are eligible to vote.
The winner must get at least two-thirds of the votes of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government. If not, several rounds are taken, in which the winner gets a simple majority.
Only member states that are not under AU sanctions are allowed to submit candidates.
New rotational system
Under a new rotational system, the next AU Commission Chairperson will come from the Eastern African region, while the deputy will come from the North.
The Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson cannot be of the same gender.
The four commissioners too cannot come from the same regions as the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson.