Ethiopia’s Tigray region names Getachew as new interim leader

Getachew Reda has been named as the interim leader of the Tigray regional state.

The move came after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), one of the three bodies forming the transitional administration in the region, nominated him for the position.

TPLF bypassed Debretsion Gebremichael, who led the organisation as chairman for several years and served as president of  Tigray region.

After the TPLF lost dominance over the Federal government and withdrew to the Tigray region to actively prepare for war with the aim of recapturing power, Getachew served as the spokesperson of the organisation. When the war broke out in November 2020, he also became a member of “The Central Tigray Command.”

Media sources based in the region have confirmed the news.

Theoretically, the Federal government needs to nod for it if Getachew Reda is to be legitimate for the region until the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia organized an election in the region – something that is expected to happen within a year.

The transitional administration is an arrangement that was one of the issues agreed upon at the Pretoria Peace agreement in November 2022 – which ended the two-year bloody war between the Ethiopian Government and the TPLF. Getachew has not yet remarked about his new role.

Blinken meeting

He was in Addis Ababa a day before his election to meet with United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken. Ethnic Tigray opposition parties operating in the region, including Arena Tigray, expressed a rejectionist stance both on the process and outcome of forming a transitional government in the region.

DW Amharic on Saturday reported that Arena  Tigray has released a statement regarding the development.  The party said, “…an interim administration that does not have legitimacy and Public confidence can not ensure justice and democracy.”

The TPLF had a fifty percent representation in the congress that was named to elect the transitional administration and the remaining 50 percent was split between civic organizations and opposition parties in the region among other groups.

Interim leader  

There are unconfirmed reports the that process leading to the election of Getchew as interim Tigray leader caused some chaos within the party itself due to what appears to be power struggle.

In May 2021, The Ethiopian Parliament designated the TPLF as one of the terrorist organisations. The designation was not lifted until now. However, the speaker of the parliament led a delegation to the Tigray region a month after the Pretoria agreement was signed.  The Federal government was yet to remark on the election of Getachew Reda.