Djibouti’s finance minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has won by majority the African Union commission chairmanship at a summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mr Youssouf defeated Kenya’s Raila Odinga who withdrew in the sixth round of the votes.
Raila, a former prime minister from Kenya, won the first two rounds of voting but lost the next three to Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.
Raila received 20 votes in the first round, while Mahamoud received 18 and Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar secured 10 votes. There was one vote that abstained. In the second round, Mahamoud secured 22 votes, while Raila received 19 and Madagascar had 7 and one nation abstained. Mahamoud maintained his lead in the fourth round, scoring 25 votes against Raila’s 21.
Following the fifth round, Mahamoud received 26 votes, while Raila received 21. Mahamoud had 26 votes in the sixth round, while Raila received 22. Lastly, Mahamoud secured the AUC Chair seat, winning 33 votes, constituting two-thirds. He is now set to replace Moussa Faki of Chad, who has held the position for eight years.
Youssouf has been Djibouti’s finance minister since 2005. He was previously Djibouti’s ambassador to Egypt and has served as foreign minister in the governments of three presidents.
