The EPRDF Executive committee ended its first post-Meles Zenawi meeting yesterday around 10pm , sources disclosed.
The meeting, under heavy psychological pressure due to the public unity displayed during the national mourning for the late PM Meles Zenawi, deliberated on all major issues with an unprecedented level of unity. According to insiders, the meeting need not even vote on issues as it usually does. As members, in the meeting, reiterated, the party is indebted both to the late PM and the public to maintain the current national unity as well as deliver economic progress.
The executive committee has 36 seats, which is made of 9 representatives from each member parties – ANDM, SPDM, TPLF and OPDO. It couldn’t be confirmed as to who attended the meeting in lieu of the late Meles Zenawi, who was one of the nine members from TPLF.
However, the meeting was chaired by Acting Prime Minister and Dep. Chairman of the party Hailemariam Desalegne.
The meeting didn’t vote on a new Chairperson and Dep. Chairperson as that power belongs to the EPRDF Council.
The 180 members of the EPRDF Council are summoned to meet a few days after the Ethiopian new year – which is on Sep. 11. The Council will formally vote on the new chairperson.
It appears the party is bent on emphasizing the collective leadership and the role of the party, thus being the reason on further delay for parliamentary vote on a new Prime Minister.
Another reason for the delay in the past two weeks was that appointing a new PM would have stolen the media spotlight from the national mourning and the tribute to the late PM Meles Zenawi.
[Stay tuned for more info and analysis]
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*Correction: In the last paragraph, the word "deal" was corrected as "delay".
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