By Kolawole Ojebisi
Mahamoud Youssouf, Djibouti’s foreign minister, has been elected as the new chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission.
Prior to the election, analysts did not consider Youssouf a shoo-in for the exalted post as Raila Odinga, Kenya’s former prime minister, and Richard Randriamandrato, Madagascar’s ex-economy/ finance and foreign affairs minister, were rated as frontline runners in the contest for the AU top position.
Youssef, however, warded stiff opposition from the two eminent Africans to win Saturday’s election after seven rounds of voting by the union’s 49 member states.
He won the election with 33 votes in the final round, meeting the required two-thirds threshold.
The keenly contested race saw Youssouf secure a win in the final voting round.The Djibouti foreign minister’s victory has been described as “surprising” as the multilingual politician who speaks Arabic, English, and French was perceived as an outside shot compared to fellow contenders from larger African nations.
The Djiboutian replaces Moussa Faki of Chad, who has held the AU chairperson position for eight years.
He is expected to steer the AU through complex issues around peace and security, trade, and institutional reforms while advocating for Africa’s position on the global stage.
The minister previously said that as commission chairman, “peace and security” would be his priority.
