PHOTO | DPA PICTURE-ALLIANCE | AFP 

Kenya has won the UN Security Council seat after beating Djibouti in second round of voting  Thursday.

The contest between Kenya and Djibouti headed to the second round of voting Thursday after the first phase saw Nairobi’s victory insufficient to win the UN seat.

In this race, it was competing against Djibouti, a country from the same eastern African region as Nairobi and which it beat at the African Union endorsement election last year.

In the wake of AU endorsing Kenya, Djibouti touted support from the Francophone Organisation as well as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, both of which includes members from Africa.

The outcome of the vote will have great implications on not only the power and image of AU but also the cohesion of IGAD,” said Mr Wilfred Nasong’o Muliro, who teaches international relations and security at the Technical University of Kenya.