Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has been elected the African Union Commission chairperson, succeeding Musa Mahamat Faki of Chad.
Youssouf floored former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to win the seat after seven rounds of voting.
He secured 33 votes in the seventh and final round after Raila was eliminated from the contest.
Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf seals victory in hard-fought contest
The victory did not come on a silver platter as the career diplomat had to sweat it to the final round.
After losing the first two rounds to Odinga, Youssouf took the lead from the third round of voting, holding onto it to the end.
The first round saw Raila Odinga secure 20 votes, with Mahmoud Ali Youssouf securing 18 votes with Richard Randriamandrato bagging 10 votes.
Round two saw Raila build up his lead with 22 votes, with Mahmoud Ali Youssouf securing 19 votes and Richard Randriamandrato getting seven votes.
This was the last time Odinga was in the lead as the tide turned swiftly in favour of Djibouti’s candidate.
The third round of voting in which Madagascar’s Randriamandrato was eliminated after securing 5 votes saw Odinga bag 20 votes with Youssouf taking the lead with 23 votes.
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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.
Raila earned 22 votes in the sixth round with Mahamoud Youssouf gaining one more to stand at 26 votes and eliminate the former Prime Minister.
This sealed Raila Odinga's fate with his elimination from the contest, leaving Djibouti's candidate to cruise to victory.