Meles to appoint 4 deputy PMs

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is appointing four Deputy Prime Ministers within his newly forming cabinet, a source told Addis Neger.

According to sources in Addis Ababa, Meles will announce the composition of his new cabinet within the next two weeks. Meles’ position of premiership remains an indisputable and untouchable issue at least for the next five years, pundits within the party noted. His new move to create four positions of Deputy Prime Minister is considered to be his own creative solution to ease internal tensions. For the last 19 years, the single position of deputy premiership has been filled by leaders of the ANDM, representing the Amharas. The position of PM and Deputy parallel the position within the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) where Meles–from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)–holds the leading role, and leader of ANDM was assigned as deputy PM.

This time around, the party has moved away from this tradition of two decades, appointing chairman of the Southern Ethiopia Peoples Democratic Movement (SEPDM) Hailemariam Desalegn as Deputy Head of the EPRDF during the recently concluded conference in Adama. According to tradition, the deputy premiership goes to Hailemariam of the SEPDM. This decision is traditionally made by the top man of EPRDF, Meles himself, is considered to be the most revolutionary in terms of reshuffling.

The motive behind the creation of four new Deputy PM Offices is not yet clear. Observers in Addis told Addis Neger that it could be one way of easing a lurking tension between member parties–particularly among members of the OPDO who were expecting to assume the position of Deputy both within the EPRDF and the government. Their hopes were dashed long before the Adama conference, sources remember, with the rise of Abadula’s popularity within the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDP).

“Don’t expect the unexpected,” one close source revealed on conditions of anonymity, while speculating on the possible candidate for the new positions. Hailemariam Desalegn will be the first among the deputies. The other most likely prospective candidate is Muktar Kedir of the OPDO, Head of the Secretariat of the EPRDF and Member of the Executive Committee of the EPRDF. Muktar’s nomination could be a two-fold assignment, the same source believes. He is currently heading the central office of the EPRDF, and appointment as a Deputy PM would allow him more direct access to merge the party and government structures more effectively. The other factor behind his possible rise in power is his ethnic and religious background, as an Oromo Muslim.
Demek Mekonnen, who is elected as the new chairperson of ANDM, substituting former Deputy PM Addis Legesse, is another prospective nominee for the deputy premiership office. The fourth office holder of the deputy premiership is expected to come from the OPDO or one of the EPRDF-affiliated parties. One commentator, however, suggested that the new chairperson of OPDO, Alemayehu Atomssa, may be included among the deputies.