Ethiopia Plans Vote on Creation of Regional State to Quell Autonomy Demands
- Sidama group had mulled unilateral declaration of statehood
- Ethiopia has nine regional states, more than 80 ethnic groups
Abiy Ahmed
Photographer: Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
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Ethiopia’s electoral agency plans to conduct a referendum this year on the creation of a 10th state, the first of a series of votes that are anticipated as ethnic groups demand greater autonomy.
Regional groups have intensified calls for more self-determination since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in April 2018 with a pledge to reform the country’s political system. The country has been governed by a federation of ethnic states since 1991, when a more than decade-long military dictatorship ended.