In Ethiopia, the Prime Minister invested for a second quinquennium

The Ethiopian Prime Minister was invested, Monday, October 4, with a second term after the landslide victory of his party, the Prosperity Party, in the June poll, while the country is going through a major conflict in the north. “I, Abiy Ahmed Ali, today before the House of People’s Representatives, I accept to be appointed Prime Minister,” said the 45-year-old leader while he was invested by Supreme Court President Meaza Ashenafi.

The Prosperity Party won the June 21 elections with flying colors, a sign, according to his administration, that it has received the expected popular anointing and support for its democratic reforms undertaken since coming to power in 2018.

But the vote took place in a political and humanitarian context anything but appeased: tens of thousands of people were killed in the war in Tigray (north), where hundreds of thousands of people are threatened by famine, according to the ‘UN – enough to tarnish the aura of the one who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.

In recent months, fighting has spread to neighboring regions of Afar and Amhara, as Tigray has fallen into what the UN calls a de facto humanitarian blockade, fueling fears of widespread famine. magnitude similar to what Ethiopia experienced in the 1980s.

>> Ethiopia: “The risk of regional destabilization is very real”

It is not certain whether Abiy Ahmed’s inauguration would have any effect on the offensive led by government forces against the Tigrayan rebels of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominated national political life before the arrival of the Prime Minister to power.

Abiy Ahmed’s office, which accuses the rebels of starting the war in November 2020 by attacking federal army camps, said some conciliation measures, such as declassifying the TLPF as a “terrorist group”, could only take place after the formation of a new government.

International partners, such as the United States, which have threatened to impose targeted sanctions in connection with the conflict, “will look at this very closely to see if there is any change in position”, Judge William Davison, analyst at the International Crisis Group.

International relationships

Relations with the international community deteriorated further last week, when Ethiopia announced the expulsion of seven heads of UN agencies.

On Monday, the British ambassador to the UN in Geneva called, in a speech on behalf of more than 40 countries, for the return of the expelled officials.

“Their work is vital in responding to the multiple humanitarian crises facing Ethiopia and persistent reports of human rights violations and abuses,” he said.

Western countries are “disappointed” by Abiy Ahmed, a sentiment that should shape Ethiopia’s relations with foreign powers during his second term, said Cameron Hudson, member of the Africa Center of the Atlantic Council.

“The West will probably go back to a strategic manual that it knows: exert pressure where possible, get involved where necessary, and remain at an observation post for better alternatives”, summarizes- he does.

A “conspiracy” of “traitors from within”

“There have been efforts to destabilize our sovereignty, unity and social co-existence,” Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, whose role is mainly honorary, said Monday.

“However, (the) Ethiopians, who will not make concessions on the pride and existence of the country, have succeeded in foiling this conspiracy devised by enemies from outside and traitors from within to destroy Ethiopia. “, did she say.

Abiy Ahmed had been appointed Prime Minister after several years of anti-government protests against the ruling TPLF-led coalition and had promised to break with the authoritarian governance of the past, including holding the most democratic elections ever seen in the country .

Once his new government is in place, Abiy Ahmed will have to confront what Awet Weldemichael, an expert on the Horn of Africa at Queen’s University (Canada), calls the “triple crises”: the war itself, and its humanitarian and economic repercussions.

“The wave of fighting looming and the worsening humanitarian situation (will deal) a new blow to its international reputation and be a test for its government from day one,” analyzes the expert.

Mr. Abiy is due to speak on Monday afternoon at a planned rally in Meskel Square, one of Addis Ababa’s major squares, in the presence of the presidents of Nigeria, Somalia, Senegal and Kenya .

With AFP