NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 7 \u2013 Questions arise about whether Kenya\u2019s candidate for the African Union (AU) Chairperson position, Raila Odinga, will have the stamina to compete in a televised debate on December 13, 2024, against two other contenders for the continental top role.<\/p>\n
Raila will face off with Djibouti\u2019s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the country\u2019s Foreign Minister since 2005, and Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar.<\/p>\n
At 79, Raila is the oldest of the three, followed by Youssouf at 59 and Randriamandrato at 55.<\/p>\n
Dubbed Mjadala Afrika (Africa\u2019s Leadership Debate), the event will be held at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.<\/p>\n
According to the AU, the debate offers candidates a platform to outline their visions for advancing Agenda 2063, the continent\u2019s blueprint for sustainable development.<\/p>\n
The debate will be conducted in both French and English, with simultaneous interpretation in the AU\u2019s six working languages: English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swahili.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe debate focuses on policy issues and a solutions-oriented engagement on how each candidate intends to advance the realization of the Aspirations and Goals of Agenda 2063, other AU projects with continental focus, and Common African Positions,\u201d AU said in a communication.<\/p>\n
Raila, aiming to succeed outgoing Chairperson Moussa Faki, has been intensifying his shuttle diplomacy efforts, engaging African Heads of State to rally support for his bid.<\/p>\n
With the African Union Chairperson elections set for February 2025, Raila aims to leverage the two-hour televised debate, starting at 7:00 PM, to rally support and present his case as the ideal candidate for the role.<\/p>\n
While no public opinion polls have revealed a frontrunner, Odinga is counting on his extensive experience in championing democratic reforms and fostering regional integration to secure the position.<\/p>\n
Raila has since secured endorsements from several Heads of State and aims to gain more support in the final stretch of the race. <\/p>\n
The winner in the race will be determined by the AU Assembly through a secret ballot, with Raila needing a two-thirds majority vote from eligible member states to clinch the seat.<\/p>\n
President William Ruto, who has endorsed Raila\u2019s candidacy, has deployed state resources to ensure the veteran opposition leader and former Prime Minister secures the AU Chairperson seat.<\/p>\n
While Raila enjoys State backing following his exit from local politics, some Kenyans have criticized him as an \u201copportunistic\u201d leader driven by self-interest.<\/p>\n
The government has rejected this narrative, urging Kenyans to show patriotism and support \u201cour own\u201d in the high-stakes race, which could shape Kenya\u2019s influence in Africa and determine Raila\u2019s future.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 7 \u2013 Questions arise about whether Kenya\u2019s candidate for the African Union (AU) Chairperson position, Raila Odinga, will have the stamina to compete in a televised debate on December 13, 2024, against two other contenders for the continental top role. Raila will face off with Djibouti\u2019s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the country\u2019s Foreign […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104554\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}