African Union chairperson candidates advocate for permanent UN Security Council seats

Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Three African leaders seeking to head the African Union have detailed their plans for regional security amid conflicts and political coups while strongly advocating for inter-Africa trade. The race for chairperson debate was held Friday in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Kenya’s Raila Odinga, Djibouti’s Mahamoud Ali Youssouf and Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato are seeking to be elected as chairperson for the 55-member state African Union. They had a two-hour debate Friday in which they all advocated for two permanent seats for African countries at the U.N. Security Council to effectively represent the continent with the youngest population. The three are seeking to convince most African countries before the February election to succeed the African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki.