The new African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson is Mahamoud Ali Youssouf and is scheduled to take oath of office in March this year.
According to the vote tally, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf secured 33 votes on the 7th round of voting. He succeeds incumbent Chairperson Moussa Faki.
East African region’s preferred candidate Raila Odinga failed to gunner enough votes to claim victory.
Tracking the Votes From Round-one to Round-seven
Voting kicked off with Raila Odinga leading the first round with 20 votes, followed closely by Djibouti’s Youssouf, who secured 18 votes.
Richard Randriamandrato received 10 votes, while one country abstained, leaving no decisive winner.
Round two saw Odinga punching up his tally to 22 votes, while Youssouf fetched 19 votes and surpassing Randriamandrato, who dropped to 7 votes.
In third round, Youssouf took the lead with 23 votes, while Odinga remained at 20, and Randriamandrato’s support dwindled to 5 votes. One voter abstained.
The fourth round saw Youssouf’s support grow to 25 votes, while Odinga trailed at 21. Two countries abstained, and one vote was spoiled.
In the fifth round, Youssouf gained one more vote, reaching 26, while Odinga remained at 21.
By the sixth round, Youssouf still had 26 votes, while Odinga increased his tally to 22, with one abstention. However, Odinga dropped out, leaving Youssouf as the sole contender.
Youssouf then proceeded to the seventh round, where he secured the two-thirds majority with 33 votes, officially becoming the new AUC chairperson.
