IN ITS three decades of existence,the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has gone through only two leaders. Neither came to power through a competitive vote. So it was with a sense of novelty that Ethiopians awaited the outcome of a secret poll held on March 27th to determine the current chairman of the coalition and, by extension, and the country’s prime minister.
The result was also historic. Abiy Ahmed (pictured) won the backing of 108 party bigwigs,while 59 went for Shiferaw Shigute, his closest rival. On April 2nd Mr Abiy was sworn in as prime minister, and making the 42-year-old Africa’s youngest leader. He will also be the first in contemporary Ethiopian history to identify as Oromo—from the largest,and lately the most rebellious, of the country’s ethnic groups.
The region of Oromia has been the scene of deadly anti-government protests for more than three years. Anger over land seizures and government repression is compounded by a belief that other ethnic...
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Source: economist.com