Ethiopia’s ruling party faces a stark choice after Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s resignation: appoint a hardliner to end months of dissent, or replace him with someone who’ll allow greater political freedom. The Oromo and Amhara communities together make up more than half of Ethiopia’s population, Africa’s second-largest after Nigeria. Now, the party may be forced to name a member of one of those communities as prime minister to show it’s serious about political reform. “Since he was neither Tigrayan, nor Amhara nor Oromo, he had the wisdom of stepping outside the poisoned circle. “If Hailemariam’s departure is intended to make way for the appointment of an Oromo leader to the prime minister post, then the move will go a long way to diminishing tensions in Ethiopia,” said Bruton.

Source: Ethiopian News February 16, 2018 10:52 UTC