Ethiopia’s ruling party prepares to elect new chairman

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Ethiopia’s ruling party prepares to elect new chairman

 

(ADDIS ABABA) - Ethiopia’s ruling coalition, the Ethiopia Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is expected to hold a meeting on 16 September to elect the party’s new chairperson who also will most likely be the successor of the late prime minister, Meles Zenawi.

 

Following the death of Zenawi on 20 August, the deputy prime minister and foreign affairs Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn has been the acting prime minister of Ethiopia.

 

Desalegn was supposed to be officially sworn in on Thursday however the ruling party delayed the appointment raising concerns from opposition groups and uncertainty from the public on the viability of the post-Zenawi new leadership.

 

Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP), one of the country’s biggest opposition groups on Wednesday said the fact that the country still remains to be led by an acting prime minister indicates the country is not in a full functional state and could create a power vacuum.

 

Speaking to Sudan Tribune some opposition groups have speculated that the delay on the appointment of country’s new leader might be due to internal conflict among the heavy weights within the EPRDF leadership.

 

The Ethiopian government has dismissed concerns from the public that the death of the late premier could create power vacuum in the horn of Africa’s nation.

 

According to government officials, the newly elected chairman of the ruling EPRDF party will most likely take on the government until next elections in 2015.

 

“We are expecting the council meeting to be on the 16th,” Seikoture Getachew, the foreign relations head at the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front’s secretariat, told Bloomberg.

 

“There will be the assignment of chairperson and deputy chairperson.” He added.

 

Ethiopia, on 2 September, held a state funeral of the country’s long-time leader.

 

Tens of thousands of people including dozens of African leaders and hundreds of foreign dignitaries’ attended the funeral.

 

All leaders of Ethiopia neighbour’s attended the funeral ceremony with the exception of Eritrea.

 

However the Red Sea nation which remains at loggerheads with Ethiopia over the unresolved border dispute has gave its respects over Zenawi’s death via Binyam Berhe, Eritrea’s envoy to the Africa Union.

 

Berhe signed at the condolences book and has also shook the hand of Azeb Mesfin, the wife of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

 

Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a 1998-2000 border war over their disputed boundary that killed an estimated 70,000 people.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Ethiopia: Ruling party to elect new leader to replace late prime minister

 

By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, September 14, 4:06 PM

 

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia’s ruling party is holding a meeting in the capital to elect a chairman to succeed the late prime minister Meles Zenawi.

 

Meles, 57, died on August 20 of an unknown illness. The person elected to succeed him in the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front will almost automatically become prime minister, because the ruling party holds an overwhelming majority in parliament.

 

Meles ruled the country since 1991, assuming both the chairmanship of the ruling and the country’s premiership.

 

Sekoture Getachew, the party’s foreign relations head, says the party’s 180-member council will also elect a new deputy chairperson.

 

The party’s current deputy chair and Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn is expected to be named Meles’ successor.

 

Hailemariam took over as acting prime minister immediately after Meles’ death.

 

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[Garaad Bari]

As some news lets already are predicting, the wife of late PM Melez will be the newly elected chairperson for the party which means she will be the next PM of Ethiopia till 2015.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Azeb mesfin i doubt that.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Ethiopia acting PM Hailemariam Desalegn heads coalition

 

Hailemariam Desalegn was foreign minister and deputy to Meles Zenawi

 

Ethiopia's governing coalition has elected the country's acting Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn as its leader.

 

As chairman of the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front, Mr Hailemariam is likely to also be declared the new prime minister.

 

Mr Hailemariam took on role of interim leader last month, following the death of the previous prime minister, Meles Zenawi.

 

He had ruled the country for 21 years.

 

Officials said at the time that Mr Hailemariam would act as prime minister until the next election, due to be held in 2015.

 

Ethiopia's communications minister, Bereket Simon, said that since the coalition holds an "overwhelming majority" in government, its chair is "automatically the country's prime minister".

 

"So Hailemariam will be the country's new prime minister," he said, adding that he would be sworn in soon.

 

Ethiopia has had only three significant leaders since 1930 - Emperor Haile Selassie, Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam and Meles Zenawi.

 

There are international concerns that the political transition may not run smoothly.

 

Ethiopia saw record growth in the final years of Mr Meles's leadership, but the country lies in a troubled region and has deployed troops in Somalia, to fight Islamist militants.

 

Brussels-based think tank Crisis Group has previously said Mr Meles's successor will lead a weaker regime facing mounting grievances along ethnic and religious lines and a likely increase in radicalism.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Ethiopia ruling coalition approves Hailemariam Desalegn as PM

 

By Kumerra Gemechu

 

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia's ruling coalition on Saturday approved Hailemariam Desalegn's appointment as prime minister to replace Meles Zenawi, who died last month, the government's spokesman said.

 

He will be sworn in early next month when parliament reconvenes, Bereket Simon told a news conference in the capital Addis Ababa.

 

Hailemariam, who took over in an acting capacity after Meles' death, also becomes head of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the ruling coalition of parties.

 

The 47-year-old former university dean rose quickly through the ranks when he turned to politics, serving as president of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region in the southwest of the country from 2001 to 2006 before being named as an advisor to Meles.

 

His selection as Meles' deputy in 2010 was a major surprise, partly due to his relatively young age. He was widely seen as the late leader's protégé and in recent years replaced Meles as chair of a number of parliamentary committees.

 

After taking power in 1991 from Mengistu Haile Mariam's military junta, guerrilla fighter Meles became one of the central political figures on the continent and drove domestic economic growth into double figures.

 

An astute economist, Meles advocated a blend of heavy state spending and foreign private investment, focusing lately on energy and infrastructure projects.

 

However Ethiopia remains one of the world's biggest recipients of aid, and average incomes are roughly a third of those elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

 

Many Ethiopians complain that while Meles forged closer business ties with global powerhouses such as China, that did not translate into more jobs for Ethiopians and about three-quarters of the population still live on less than $2 a day.

 

Copyright © 2012 Reuters

[Abtigiis]

Hailemariam - Chairman of EPRDF

Demeke (Amhara) - deputy chairman

[The Zack]

I heard they are going to have 3 deputy prime ministers because nobody trusts nobody anymore.