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Raila Odinga Makes Final Pitch For Votes
After meeting Mnangagwa at State House in Harare yesterday, Odinga said he had come to announce his candidacy to the Zimbabwean leader who is also the Southern African Development Community chair and by extension regional leaders.
Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga is intensifying his final pitch for votes in the upcoming African Union (AU) Commission poll for the post of chairperson after meeting Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare yesterday.
The new AU Commission chairperson will be elected by the AU Assembly through a secret ballot on 25 February 2025 at the continental body’s 38th summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Three candidates are in the running: Mahmoud Ali Youssouf from Djibouti, Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar and Odinga.
Odinga, who is closer to opposition leaders in Zimbabwe, ran for president and lost five times in Kenyan elections.
This is widely seen as a final bid for top office in Addis Ababa, a welcome relief for President William Ruto back home in Kenya.
Former South African minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was shipped to that position in a similar bid to address political issues back home and incubate her for a failed bid to become president of South Africa.
She was the chairperson for the AU Commission from 2012 to 2017.It took three rounds of voting and some very aggressive lobbying by the South African government to get Dlamini- Zuma elected chairperson in 2012.
This led to serious resentment towards her from the francophone countries of Africa, who where hoping for a further term for Gabon’s Jean Ping.
On 13 December 2024, Raila and the other two candidates discussed their visions for the continent in a first-ever election debate broadcast from the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.All of them addressed issues of security in Africa, economic integration of the continent, and AU reforms.
Odinga, seen my some as the frontrunner in the race, said:
“I envision a united Africa characterised by peace, prosperity, and sustainable progress for all. We must harness our vast human and natural resources, and integrate the energy of our youth with the vision and wisdom of our leaders. As a lifelong Pan-Africanist, I will offer participatory leadership to ensure delivery on the priorities of the African peoples as envisioned in the African Union Agenda 2063.”
After meeting Mnangagwa at State House in Harare yesterday, Odinga said he had come to announce his candidacy to the Zimbabwean leader who is also the Southern African Development Community chair and by extension regional leaders.
“I have come to announce (my AU Commission chairperson candidacy) and to also ask for support from Zimbabwe and SADC by extension.
“I am happy to have been received very well by the President.”
