Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga faces stiff competition for the African Union Commission top job as diplomatic intrigues begin more than four months before the vote.
On Friday, just two days after Raila secured the backing of East Africa Community, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) resolved to back Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssef.
The resolution was reportedly made by OIC Foreign ministers in Cameroon.
Djibouti’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dya-Eddine Bamakhrama posted on X that the ministers adopted the resolution in its session of August 29 to August 30.
At least 27 members of the OIC are from Africa, a situation some pundits hold wILL give Raila a run for his money.
However, the backing for Djibouti by these Islamic countries remains to be seen.
Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Morocco who are all member of OIC have fronted candidates for deputy chairperson.
This means they would want to team up with other regions, say East Africa to ensure their candidates sail through.
Some members of the OIC such as Uganda, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau are also believed to be backing Raila.
Other countries such as Niger, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Gabon and Mali are suspended from AU.
Besides the AUC chairmanship and deputy, there are three other continental jobs for grabs.
