It has been a year of dramatic political changes in Ethiopia, with Monday (April 2) marking a historic day in its political history when Dr. Abiy Ahmed, at the age of 42, became one of Africa’s youngest leaders, sworn as the new Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. In his inaugural speech, Dr. Abiy began by extending his appreciation of former Premier Hailemariam Dessalegn for his exemplary decision to voluntarily step down as part of the solution for the instability that had affected the country in recent years. This exactly proved the former Prime Minister correct when he said: “I see my resignation as vital in the bid to carry out reforms that would lead to sustainable peace and democracy”. Dr. Abiy went on to speak of the importance of unity, love and forgiveness, acknowledging the EPRDF’s failures and promising to mend the party as well as free political space; the media and civil society.
One of the biggest surprises of 2018 was the extent and speed of the reforms announced by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy who has welcomed home exiled opposition figures, announced one of the world’s few “gender-balanced” cabinets, survived an assassination attempt and has made it clear he is determined to hold free and fair elections in a country ruled by a single dominant coalition since 1991. Dr. Abiy has released and pardoned political leaders, lifting bans on political parties, websites and various media outlets that were deemed terrorists and affiliates. He has invited them back to operate within a democratic Ethiopia. These ground-breaking changes helped in convincing exiled opposition groups and the Ethiopian Diaspora community that the changes were genuine. They brought many on board again to participate in the country’s affairs. A draft pardon proclamation to streamline the way the government can release wrongly accused and imprisoned individuals and organizations has been submitted to parliament for approval. Previous anti-terrorist, cyber-terrorist and charities legislation and proclamations are being redrafted by the newly appointed attorney general to pave way for greater democratic reforms. At the same time, major efforts to combat corruption and rent-seeking have been launched.
With the police, the military, internal security, correctional facilities and other elements within the military-security establishment of the country suffering from a serious lack of public confidence, reforming these institutions in a top-down approach was a vital step towards restoring public trust and stability. Here, and in other bodies, Dr. Abiy started by replacing old-guard veterans in rapid succession, where appropriate in a respectful manner to ensure continuity in accordance with state protocol and full-honours for the retirement of long-serving officials. The success of his policies was underlined in October when the EPRDF Congress gave Dr. Abiy’s leadership a massive vote of confidence, re-electing him as party chairman and Demeke Mekonnen as his deputy, confirming his position as prime minister until the next general election in 2020.
Most dramatic has been appointments of women to many top posts. President Sahle-Work Zewde is Africa’s only female head of state, and for the first time in Ethiopia’s history, women hold half of the government’s 20 ministerial posts, with security portfolios placed in the hands of Aisha Mohammed as Defense Minister and former parliamentary speaker, Muferiat Kamil, heading the newly created Peace Ministry, covering the police and intelligence agencies. Human rights lawyer Meaza Ashenafi has become Ethiopia’s most senior judge as President of the Supreme Court.
Dr. Abiy markedly departed from the usual trend of conducting diplomacy within the Horn of Africa, with a “win-win” approach towards neighbours, rejecting the previous decades’ old trend of the typical “us-versus-them” and “allies vs. enemies”. In May, he visited Sudan and Djibouti and in June travelled to Egypt. His biggest success came in putting an end to the “no peace-no war” situation with Eritrea that had persisted for decades, improving regional economic ties and cooperation. The dramatic diplomatic thaw between Ethiopia and Eritrea has reshaped the diplomacy of the Horn of Africa. Following Dr. Abiy’s announcement that Ethiopia would fully accept and implement the findings of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission, he and President Isaias of Eritrea had visited each other’s countries within a matter of weeks. Borders were re-opened and families re-united after twenty years or more apart; Eritrea reopened its embassy in Addis Ababa and in August Ethiopia reopened its embassy in Asmara; direct phone lines were restored between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and strangers called each other to say hello as the two leaders brought over twenty years of distrust and conflict to an end. Flights restarted between Addis Ababa and Asmara. Prime Minister Abiy and President Isaias celebrated the Ethiopian New year on September 11 with members of the Ethiopian and Eritrean defense forces along the common border.
It didn’t end there. Eritrea restored relations with Somalia and agreed to normalize ties with Djibouti, celebrating as the U.N. Security Council lifted sanctions. As Ethiopia and Eritrea made peace and restored normal relations, easing tension around the region, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres emphasized that there was “a wind of hope blowing in the Horn of Africa.”
Underlining the need to further expand ties with neighboring countries, the Prime Minister has referred to the close cross-cultural and inter-cultural linkages among all the peoples of the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is an emblem of Pan-Africanism, the founder and seat of the African Union, member of many important international organizations, and it plays a notable role in regional, continental, and global issues. Dr. Abiy says the Government will further reinforce and continue its relations with all “our African brothers.” On New Year’s Eve, he referred specifically to relations with Eritrea: “While expressing our readiness to resolve our differences through dialogue, I take this opportunity to call on the Eritrean government to take a similar stand not only for the sake of our common interest but also for the common blood relations between the peoples of the two countries.”
Speaking at the Millennium Hall on New Year’s Eve, to a huge gathering which brought together high-level officials, religious leaders, members of opposition parties and returning exiles, and thousands of city residents, as well as representatives of Regional State governments, the Prime Minister said firmly: “The future, in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa as a whole, augurs well for extricating poverty and setting in motion a path of growth and prosperity,” adding, “Ethiopia is the country we share, and we have to work for peaceful co-existence and prosperity.”
The positive winds of change evident in Ethiopia under the leadership of Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed have, indeed, opened a new chapter in Ethiopia’s political, economic and social history, offering realistic and genuine possibilities of change to meet the hopes and expectations of the country’s youthful population. These changes, among others, are in line with the new political and democratic realities of Ethiopia. Problems, of course, remain, and there have been intra-ethnic clashes and heightened tensions in some areas, but over this last year Ethiopia has indeed turned the page, opened a new chapter and ushered in a new dawn. It has been welcomed and embraced by Ethiopians throughout the length and breadth of the country, and across the world. It offers great hope and expectations for 2019.
