Sidama’s demand to become a separate regional state was heading for a showdown in mid-July 2019, after the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia let the constitution’s one-year limit for a referendum pass, The Reporter reported.
Sidama people celebrate Fichchee, the Sidama New Year, at Gudumale in Hawassa, 2013 (Kebede Asefa, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0) [file photo]
The Sidama zonal council approved the question about a year earlier, and the speaker of the Southern regional council forwarded it to the board. The board has excused itself from holding the vote, citing its own institutional reform, the need for a legal framework guaranteeing its independence, preparations for a free and fair election in 2020, and staffing needs.
Sidama has held two large rallies demanding a quick answer, the second made up only of women, backed by zonal leaders, activists at home and abroad and senior regional officials. Almost a dozen other zones in the Southern region have since approved their own statehood questions. A study commissioned by the regional government, involving Addis Ababa University academics, recommended reorganizing the region into a cluster of states, an idea unpopular with many in the ruling Southern Ethiopian Peoples’ Democratic Movement.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told parliament that forming a state is a constitutional right but must follow due process, and that any move outside it would face federal intervention, as happened in the Somali region. “We will not tolerate mob commotions; all will be done according to the procedure. But if there is any attempt to go against that, we will fix it the way we are used to,” he said. The Ejjeetto, Sidama’s youth movement, met in Hawassa afterwards and said it would not back down in the face of what it called illegal and unconstitutional warnings.
Activists have talked of declaring statehood on 18 July 2019, written 11/11/11 in the Ethiopian calendar. Sidama invitees, including the opposition, stayed away from a discussion the electoral board organized at the Ghion Hotel in Addis Ababa, and three Sidama opposition groups demanded that the board announce a referendum date within five days.
Muluken Kassahun, a constitutional law professor at Mettu University, said the constitution gives no remedy when a referendum is not held within a year. Under Article 19(3) of Proclamation 251/2001, the claimant can appeal in writing to the House of the Federation, which then has two years to decide. “According to this, they cannot proclaim statehood by themselves,” he said, warning that a unilateral declaration would breach Article 9 of the constitution and could lead to criminal charges under articles 238 and 241 of the criminal code. He said even a successful referendum would require negotiations on assets, borders and federal budget shares, and urged the federal government to open talks rather than wait.
A scholar who has studied Ethiopian politics for about two decades told the paper the question had been overdue for more than 20 years but had to respect the rights of others, including the mixed population of Hawassa, and that borders with Oromia and Wolaita needed careful handling. “If the Sidama proceed with the self-declaration of the 11/11/11 date, what would happen is Armageddon; none will win but there will be an unparalleled destruction,” he said.
The TPLF central committee called for constitutional answers to the statehood questions and rejected the use of force, the newly formed Wolaita National Movement demanded that its zone’s referendum request proceed, and the SEPDM central committee had been meeting for a week on the issue.
Sources: The Reporter