The Ethiopian government said Thursday it has appointed a top official in the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) as head of an interim administration for Tigray, the latest confidence building measure under their landmark peace deal.
The announcement comes just a day after parliament removed the TPLF from an official list of terrorist organisations, a move it said would help bolster the November 2022 agreement that ended the brutal two-year war between the rebels and pro-government forces.
“Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has appointed Getachew Reda as president of the Tigray region’s interim administration,” Abiy’s office said in a statement posted on Twitter.
The formation of a transitional government for Ethiopia’s northernmost region and the delisting of the TPLF as a terrorist group were among the key provisions of the peace deal signed in South Africa’s capital Pretoria.
The agreement had stipulated the establishment of an “inclusive” interim regional administration until elections could be held.
The TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for three decades until Abiy took office in 2018, had been officially designated a terrorist organisation in May 2021, six months after the Tigray.
“By regularising the TPLF as a political body, Addis has tacitly shown support for the proposed interim administration in Tigray and the reintegration of TPLF members into national politics,” said Connor Vasey, Africa analyst for the Eurasia Group.
“The formation of an interim administration is a key steppingstone to further rounds of disarmament and confidence building among government financiers, including the IMF and World Bank,” he added in a note.
