Ethiopia's EPRDF emphasizes respect for rule of law at ExCo meeting

Ethiopia’s ruling coalition, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has given full backing to the need to respect rule of law in holding the country together.

The EPRDF’s Executive Committee stressed at the end of its regular meeting on Wednesday that failure to respect rule of law was a sure means to derailing current reform efforts being undertaken.

The Executive Committee also underscored the need “to ensure full and total respect for the rule of law without which justice and order will break down and the promise of the current reform initiatives will not fully be realized,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s chief of staff said in a tweet.

The 36-member committee of nine representatives each from the four EPRDF coalition parties also endorsed wide ranging reforms being carried out by the administration.

They expressed trust in the speed at which the reforms were being pursued and also emphasized the need for the reforms to be institutionalized to ensure their stability, chief of staff Fitsum Arega added.

The four parties under the EPRDF are Abiy’s party – the Oromo Peoples Democratic Front (OPDO), the Southern Ethiopian Peoples Democratic Movement (SEPDM), the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

Internal security has been a primary headache for PM Abiy and his fast-paced democratic and economic reforms since he took over the reins in April 2018.

Ethnically motivated attacks in parts of the country have led to deaths, property destruction and mass displacement. Such attacks have been identified as a flash point that the administration needs to address as quickly as possible.

The PM last week stressed at a graduation ceremony for top military officers that the authorities were not going to tolerate lawlessness because rule of law was the glue that binded the society.

HE PM Dr Abiy Ahmed congratulated the 2018 graduates of Defense Command College. During the event he underscored that since Rule of Law is the glue & foundation that keeps our society together the Government won’t tolerate the increasing tendency to disregard the law. #Ethiopia pic.twitter.com/6ehZojGmDY

— Fitsum Arega (@fitsumaregaa) August 18, 2018