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Five zones and one wereda (district with an average population of 140,000) in the Southern Region of Ethiopia agreed to merge and form a new regional state, which will be the eleventh region of the country.
The zones are in the western part of present-day Ethiopia’s Southern Region, according to the state news cable, Ethiopian News Agency. The report indicated that the areas of Kaffa, Benchi, Sheko, Western Omo, Dawro, Sheka and Konta Special Wereda are the areas agreed to form a new regional state. In Ethiopia, the next level of administration below the regional state is the Zone administration, which is above the Wereda administration.
The application of the zones has obtained the acceptance of the Chamber of the Federation of Ethiopia. After examining the application, the Federation Chamber granted the Ethiopian National Electoral Board to hold a referendum in the zones for the formation of a new regional state in Ethiopia.
It is recalled that about a year ago, the Sidama area of Ethiopia became the 10th regional state of Ethiopia after holding a referendum. Article 39 of the controversial Ethiopian constitution, which was introduced by the former rebel groups of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), allows a region to become a separate nation holding a referendum.
It is not yet clear whether the continued search of different areas within the southern part to become a region will lead to a fractured Ethiopia and the birth of small countries of the nation of 110 million people. The southern region of Ethiopia is home to around 44 tribes.
The EPRDF has been in power until it was renamed the Prosperity Party, ending almost three decades of stronghold of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which is currently in charge of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, isolating itself from the Prosperity Party.
The TPLF has recently held general elections in the region ignoring the Ethiopian Parliament’s decision to postpone it due to the global pandemic, the coronavirus. Since reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in April 2018, the TPLF has been at odds with the federal government.
