Ethiopias ruling coalition Tuesday elected Abiy Ahmed as its new chairman, according to state media. The announcement by state broadcaster FANA means that Ahmed, who hails from the Oromo ethnic group, is now expected to succeed Hailemariam Desalegn as Ethiopias prime minister. The chairman of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition has historically also taken on prime minister duties. The EPRDF and its allies control all 547 seats in Ethiopias parliament, which must confirm the new prime minister. Ruling coalition In a surprise move on February 15, Hailemariam announced that he was stepping down as both prime minister and chairman of the EPRDF. He said at the time that he would be staying on as prime minister in a caretaker capacity, until the EPRDF named a successor. Local news site Addis Standard reported on Tuesday that Ahmed garnered 108 out of 180 votes in a meeting by the EPRDFs Council, which comprises 45 members each from the four political parties that make up the coalition. The coalition parties include; the Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), the Oromo Peoples Democratic Organisation (OPDO) and the Southern Ethiopian Peoples Democratic Movement (SEPDM). Hailemariams abrupt resignation prompted the government to declare a six-month state of emergency in a bid to stem political unrest amid long-standing demands for greater freedoms. Mass protests have been going on since 2015, when anti-government demonstrations broke out among the Oromo, Ethiopias biggest ethnic group, and later spread to the Amhara, the second biggest group. The protests, which initially began over land rights but later broadened to include calls for greater political representation at the national level, were met with a harsh government response. If confirmed, Abiy will be the first Oromo prime minister in the 27 years EPRDF has been in power. Last month, the 81-member OPDO central committee named Ahmed, a former minister of science and technology, as its new chairman. Aljazeera
