Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on Wednesday the extension of the tenure of the interim administrator of the northern Tigray region by one year, a decision that casts a shadow over the upcoming elections scheduled for June. The move comes in the aftermath of a brutal two-year conflict that ended in 2022 with a peace deal establishing the interim administration.
The Tigray region has been addressing the devastating consequences of the conflict, which is believed to have claimed the lives of roughly 600,000 people. The war, one of the deadliest in recent decades, involved Tigrayan rebels fighting against federal forces, local militias, and the Eritrean army. The conflict also disrupted legislative and regional elections in 2021, resulting in the appointment of Getachew Reda, a veteran Tigray politician, to lead the interim administration.
Getachew, who faced criticism within the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), was succeeded by Tigrayan General Tadesse Werede in April of last year. However, Prime Minister Ahmed’s recent extension of General Werede’s mandate raises concerns about the scheduled polls on June 1. The elections are meant to elect leaders to the local parliament and government, as well as MPs to the federal parliament. With the extension, there is now doubt over whether these polls will proceed as planned.
The TPLF has argued that the return of around one million people, out of Tigray’s approximately six million residents, who were displaced during the 2020–2022 conflict, is necessary before the vote can take place. In the meantime, tension has been mounting as federal troops and Tigrayan forces have been massing at the Tigray border, increasing fears of a renewed conflict.
The federal authorities have also accused the TPLF of growing closer to neighboring Eritrea, which has tense relations with Addis Ababa. The TPLF has denied these allegations. This political landscape, combined with the extended mandate of General Tadesse Werede, adds to the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Tigray region and the potential for further conflict.
Source: Africanews
Original author: AfricaNews
