Ethiopia to declare three month state of emergency as of today

By AddisStandard

The Council of ministers is set to declare a state of emergency for three months as of this morning, a source close to the government told Addis Standard. The military will be in charge via a command post, which will be “reporting to the Prime Minister,” according to our source.

The move follows yesterday’s resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn both as Prime Minister, Chairman of EPRDF and his own party, the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM).

Initially, there there was a “strong push” against the decision from members of two of the parties that make up the EPRDF: the Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organization (OPDO) and the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), the two parties that govern Oromia and Amhara regional states, according to our source. However, “the state of emergency will be declared this morning as the security situation in the country is getting volatile,” said the source.

Details of parts of the civilian constitution to be suspended will be announced at the end of the ministerial council’s meeting, but it is likely to be not much different than the October 2016 nine month state of emergency, which was extended by additional four months.

The “government will submit the decision to national parliament within the next 15 days,” our source said, adding the delay to table the decision to the parliament was because the parliament is currently in mid-term recess.

The state of emergency is to be declared amidst increasing power struggle, especially between the OPDO and ANDM, to replace the outgoing Prime Minister.

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