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Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has lost the African Union Commission chairperson race after losing to Mahmoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti.
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti remained the only candidate in the race to succeed Chad’s Mousa Faki, taking him a step closer to become the seventh African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson.
Madagascar’s Foreign Affairs Minister Richard Randriamandrato was eliminated after the thirds round of voting, leaving Raila Odinga to face it off with Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.
The first round saw Raila Odinga secure 20 votes, with Mahmoud Ali Youssouf securing 18 votes with Richard Randriamandrato bagging 10 votes.
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The second round of the votes saw Raila build up his lead with 22 more votes, with Mahmoud Ali Youssouf securing 19 votes and Richard Randriamandrato getting seven votes.
Third round saw Mahmoud Ali Youssouf take the lead with 23 votes, Raila Odinga dropping to the second place with 20 votes and Madagascar’s former Foreign Affairs Minister Richard Randriamandrato securing 5 votes.
Randriamanrato was dropped from the race at the third round.
The fourth round saw Mahmoud Ali Youssouf maintain his lead with 25 votes, with Raila securing 21 votes. 2 abstained votes with 1 spoilt vote.
The fifth round saw get Mahmoud Ali Youssouf 26 votes with Raila getting 21 votes. Two countries abstained with no spoilt vote.
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Round 6: Raila earns 22 votes, Mahamoud Youssouf gains one more to 26 votes.
His path to victory was characterised by challenges that he overcame including competition from Raila Odinga who had the backing of President William Ruto who deployed all resources at his disposal to secure victory for the former Prime Minister to no avail.
A last-minute push by the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc urging its members to rally behind Madagascar’s nominee, former Foreign Affairs Minister Richard J. Randriamandrato was among the huddles he overcame.