Three candidates from East Africa are in the race to become the next Chairperson of the African Union Commission.
A historic opposition figure, Kenyan Raila Odinga is seen as the frontrunner in this election after running a high-profile campaign and securing official support from numerous heads of state, including his own president, William Ruto.
However, his age—80 years old—could be a disadvantage for the veteran politician, who has run unsuccessfully for the Kenyan presidency five times. In November, in an interview with AFP, he left the door open for another presidential bid in 2027, while affirming his commitment to "focus on working for the African Union."
Having been active against Kenya's one-party regime in the early 1980s, Raila Odinga was arbitrarily detained for nearly eight years without trial, from 1982 to 1991. After a brief exile in Norway, he entered the Kenyan Parliament during the country's first multiparty elections in 1992.
Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Djibouti's Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2005, is a career diplomat and a close ally of President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh.
The 59-year-old, fluent in French, English, and Arabic, has focused on his diplomatic balancing skills in a low-key campaign.
Lastly, former Malagasy Foreign Minister Richard Randriamandrato has run a discreet campaign since submitting his last-minute candidacy in August.
The 55-year-old served as Madagascar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from March to October 2022, before being dismissed after voting in favor of a UN resolution condemning Russia’s annexations in Ukraine.
Randriamandrato has also held the position of Finance Minister in the island nation of the Indian Ocean.
