Abiy looks to transform Ethiopia's ethnic politics

Significance

The new party will likely incorporate the five ‘affiliate’ parties that rule the country’s other five regions but looks like it will be formed without the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the EPRDF’s founding member.

Impacts

• The new party’s regional branches are likely to enjoy relative autonomy, compared with the EPRDF’s highly centralised de facto hierarchy.
• The new party will still face its greatest challenge in Oromia state, the largest of Ethiopia’s states.
• Abiy’s chances of continuing as premier have been enhanced, regardless of the new party’s performance in Oromia.
• The TPLF will likely focus its attentions on Tigray state, where its political dominance will allow it to act increasingly independently.