TPLF appoints spokesman Getachew Reda to chair an interim regional administration, party-run media report.
The dominant party in Ethiopia’s Tigray region has announced its candidate for president of a regional administration convened at a peace agreement that ended a two-year war in the northern zone, according to party media.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has appointed its spokesman, Getachew Read, to the interim post, Tigrai TV reported on Saturday.
The TPLF fought Ethiopian forces and their allies in a war that killed tens of thousands of people. A truce was reached last November after federal forces recorded a series of battlefield victories.
If the federal government approves Getachew’s nomination, he would replace TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael, who has led Tigray since 2018.
It’s unclear when the federal government might weigh in on Getachew’s nomination or when the interim administration will be established.
Ethiopian government spokesman Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lack of an interim government has been hampering the humanitarian response across Tigray, where millions are in dire need of assistance, according to aid workers.
The salaries of civil servants and medical personnel have not been paid and aid agencies lack a clear interlocutor, they said.
Getachew’s nomination came days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited ethiopia and praised the authorities there for the progress in implementing the peace pact and warned that more work needs to be done.
During that visit, Blinken discussed with Getachew and Ethiopian officials the importance of establishing an interim administration.
