Following the resignation of Hailemarim Desalegn as Prime Minster and chairperson of the ruling coalition on Mid-February, the 180-Council of Ministers named Abiy Ahmed Ali to head the governing Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), paving the way for him to be Prime Minister.
Abiy, chairman of the Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organization (OPDO), replaced the outgoing Prime Minister, who was chairman of the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM) and Prime Minister since August 2012 and stepped down in a move intended to end years of unrest, amid the worst anti-government protests in 25 years.
Abiy Ahmed has emerged as a leader after receiving the most votes in secret ballot, beating out competitors, Shiferaw Shigute of SEPDM and Debretsion G. Michael of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Demeke Mekonnen, chairman of the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), would continue in his deputy chairmanship role.
As a politician with good academic and military credentials, and only 42 years old, Abiy was endorsed by most leading figures in the party. His emergence as a national consensus figure is said to be the result of a bottom-up swell of movement than as a takeover at the top. “Without the uprising in the Oromia region, his nomination would be unthinkable,” a political analyst said.
At the same time, Abiy takes on a new role amidst conflicting interests and expectation of political reforms in the turbulent times and it would be a hard task for him to offer much of the change demanded by protesters. An Ethiopian diplomat posted in Northern Africa described Abiy as someone who could be up to the task, “a brilliant person, an avowed reader and someone one who loves to indulge with new ideas.” The new Prime Minister would likely to meet pressure from a Tigrayan military establishment that still holds most of the country’s power, analysts said.
The recently released opposition figure, Merera Gudina told Aljazeera that the new Prime Minister “should be bold enough or allowed by the ruling party to lead this country to national dialogue. Not a year from now, not two years from now but now.”
Semahagn Gashu Abebe, an assistant professor of international studies at Endicott College, said that Abiy’s role in the struggle for the unity and freedom of the country in the face of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front should be applauded. However, he said, considering the gravity of the country’s crisis and the public’s demand for change, it seems doubtful that his nomination would bring about real change. “His nomination could only make sense only if he is able to form a transitional government that would involve all dissatisfied factions and parties,” he said.
The party cautions against over-optimistic expectations. A post published on EPRDF Addis Ababa’s Facebook last week reads, “The Prime Minister is EPRDF. It was the party that was democratically elected. It was the EPRDF’s programme that won. The person who is just appointed as Prime Minister is also an EPRDF member. Individuals could be replaced but the policy and strategy of the party would continue.”
Abiy grew up in Agaro and joined the resistance movement against the former military regime as a teenager. He has served in the military and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He worked his way up through the ranks of the military, becoming a Major, before moving to the Information Network Security Agency (INSA) and becoming Minister of Science and Technology on a specialist higher learning ticket. Abiy defended his PhD program at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies in Addis Ababa on May 18, 2017. On November 2017, Abiy was appointed as office head of the OPDO secretariat after having served as Head of Urban Development and Housing Bureau with the rank of Deputy Chief Administrator since October 2016.