Mr. Meles Zenawi seems to have acknowledged the fact that it will not be politically viable to go into the 2010 election with the same losing team.

In an interview Mr. Meles Zenawi, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, gave to the Financial Times, he has threatened he would leave his party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front/TPLF, unless the leadership of TPLF and that of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front/EPRDF, a coalition of political organizations created by TPLF, was replaced with new leadership with no prior experience in the armed struggle. The current Ethiopian ruling party, TPLF, came to power in 1991 after toppling the military dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam. Mr. Zenawi has been in power since 1991, first as the President of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (1991-1995) and then as the Prime Minister (1995- ).

The Financial Times:

“We are not talking about Meles only,” he [Zenawi] said. “We are talking about the old generation. The party needs to have new leadership that does not have the experience of the armed struggle.” His comments are likely to stir opposition among some party peers.

Mr Meles has been consolidating his grip on the EPRDF and playing a dominant role in government since a split in 2000 over strategy in the border war with Eritrea. Many Ethiopians remain sceptical of his intentions, believing talk of a leadership change is a ruse ahead of elections.

Unlike a presidential election, the Prime Minister is not elected through a national electoral process; in Ethiopia, members are elected to the Parliament, and then the Parliament chooses a Prime Minister. The 1995 Ethiopian Constitution puts no term limit for the Prime Minister; many believe that was designed to allow Mr. Zenawi be in power for as long as he wished.

The changing of the current TPLF/EPRDF leadership should not take anyone by surprise; it is to be recalled that in the 2005 election, almost all of the top candidates of TPLF/EPRDF lost the election to the opposition; however, using its highly-armed Agazi security wing, the TPLF/EPRDF managed to steal the votes and stay in power. It will be naive and politically foolish for TPLF to have the same folks, who ran and lost in the 2005 election – but forced their way up to power, be candidates for the party again in 2010. Here are the list of TPLF/EPRDF top candidates who lost in the 2005 election:

Chart: Election 2005 Voted TPLF/EPRDF Leaders Out of Office (Gadaa.com)

1. Mr. Bereket Simon W/Gerima (now a Member of Parliament, and also the Communication Minister) – lost in Bugina, North Wollo in the State of Amhara, to a young politician, Mr. Desitaw Kase Gobeze, of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD). However, claiming election fraud, a re-election was held in Bugina, and Mr. Bereket Simon mysteriously became the winner.

2. Mr. Tefera Walwa Wendmagegn (now the Minister of Capacity Building) – lost in Woreda (District) 18 in Addis Ababa to Major Admasu Melaku Damtew of CUD with a margin of 58% (these are figures reported by the National Election Board, which is controlled by TPLF.)

3. Mrs. Genet Zewde Biru (now the Ethiopian Ambassador to India) – lost in Woreda 21/22 in Addis Ababa to Mr. Ledetu Ayalew Miheretu of CUD (he’s now the leader of another Ethiopian opposition party – the Ethiopian Democratic Party/EDP) with a margin of 55%.

4. Mr. Dawit Yohannes Afework (now the Ethiopian Representative to the United Nations) – lost in Woreda 1/9 in Addis Ababa to Mr. Mesifin Mengsitu Dabulo of CUD with a margin of 60%.

5. Mr. Junedin Sado (former President of the State of Oromia) – lost to a UEDF/Oromo National Congress (ONC) representative in Oromia.

6. Mr. Abadula Gemeda (now President of the State of Oromia) – lost to a UEDF/Oromo National Congress (ONC) representative in Oromia.

7. Mr. Addisu Legesse (now the Deputy Prime Minister) – lost in the State of Amhara.

8. Mr. Arkebe Oqubay (the former Mayor of Addis Ababa) – lost in the city he was a mayor of.

From the hills of Amhara to the meadows of Oromia, the leadership of TPLF/EPRDF (and the party itself) was unequivocally voted out of office in the 2005 election. Mr. Meles Zenawi seems to have acknowledged the fact that it will not be politically viable to go into the 2010 election with the same losing team; therefore, it is time for swapping the old pawns with new ones. And, who exactly is replacing the old guard?

Financial Times also reveals how TPLF/EPRDF is luring the youth, hit by high unemployment caused by none other than the two-decade misguided policies of TPLF/EPRDF, into party membership:

It was also encouraging a new generation to join the party and seeking support from unemployed and younger Ethiopians, through micro-credit and social housing schemes, aware that inflation and persistent food shortages have raised social tensions.

This is not the first time TPLF has lured people in despairing conditions into party membership. During the war against the Derg military junta (1974-1991), TPLF recruited prisoners of war (POW’s) under its (and also Eritrean rebels’) custody to form a new organization called the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) in 1990. OPDO is now part of EPRDF, a coalition of political organizations created by TPLF and dominated by TPLF.

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– Read the Full Story of Financial Times’ Interview of Mr. Zenawi