After five (5) rounds of voting, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti has been elected Chairperson of the AU Commission.
Youssouf defeated Odinga Odinga of Kenya in the 4th round, and will take over from Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad, who spent two terms of 4 years each.
The African Union (AU) Summit 2025 which started on Saturday 15 February is expected to conclude on Sunday 16 February, 2025.
According to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Tinubu, Information and Strategy: “Upset at AU election as Youssouf emerges new chairpersonMahamoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti has been elected Chairperson of the AU Commission after five rounds of voting, defeating Odinga Odinga of Kenya in the 4th round.Youssouf takes over from Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad, who spent two terms of 4 years each.Youssouf’s emergence stunned Odinga, who observers expected to win.
“However, Odinga spent three minutes out of the five allowed reviewing the history of Pan-Africanism and African solidarity.He had not spoken about his vision when the electronic timer cut him off.In contrast, Youssouf sounded more convincing when presenting his vision.Odinga had started well by leading in the first round, only to lose votes even after the third candidate from Madagascar dropped off.”
