• Gedu replaced by Ambachew Mekonen
• The reason behind resignation remains unclear
• Gedu warned against the dangers of polarized political climate

The president of the Amhara National Regional State, Gedu Andargachew tendered his resignation Friday which was accepted by the Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), the regional media reported. The reason behind Gedu’s resignation remains unclear. In the final speech he delivered, Gedu condemned the discourses of intolerance that he says is flaring up interethnic hostilities between the Amhara and Tigray regions. “The proliferation of declarations and unhinged propaganda from some pledging allegiance to the Amhara people menacing people in Tigray has accentuated the problem. I would like to seize this opportunity to call upon, the Amhara people, whatever the amount of hate-filled discourses coming from both sides, the peasants and labourers in Tigray and Amhara are everlasting friends. Whatever the current political tendencies are, both people have intimate and long-standing ties. We must guard against any divisive rhetoric from whatever sides it comes.” All outstanding issues related with border could be addressed and resolved by upholding peaceful dialogue, legal framework and historical records, he said.

Gedu also spoke about the commonality between the Amhara and Oromo ethnic groups, pointing out the destructive actions of those who have been fomenting a process of internal divisiveness for decades. He said: “It is my strong belief in the need to move to strengthen the relationships between Amhara and Oromo people to the top of the political agenda. These two populations, probably more than any other populations in the country have been living intermingled, with common social and political concerns. Unfortunately, there has been a deliberate effort to foment division and sectarian hatred between the two peoples by spreading distorted narratives and falsehoods. In the past several years, this has been a deliberate strategy to instigate quarrel between them for cheap political gains. This has continued unabated today, by thousands of agitators who are waging campaigns by maintaining multiple and fake profiles on the social media platforms.”

On February 2018, Gedu won re-election as the president of the region for a third consecutive time, despite earlier reports that he would not continue.

Gedu was appointed to the post in 2013, succeeding Ayalew Gobeze who took an ambassadorial post in Turkey. On 2015, Gedu was re-elected as chief administrator of the region. He served in the past as deputy president of the region and head of the agriculture bureau. He has been a popular figure in the region, despite irking certain members of the federal government in his supposed position on the border issue of Wolkait Tsegede and Humera, a cause of contention with the Tigray region.

Amhara Mass Media agency reported that Degu has been replaced by Ambachew Mekonen, who was recently appointed as Infrastructure and Urban Development Advisor Minister to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Ambachew, who has been elected as a central committee member of the ADP on October 2018, had previously served as a Minister of the federal Urban Development and Housing (MUDHo). He has earned a master’s degree in public policy in 2000 from the Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Management and his Ph.D in Economics from Kent University, U.K.