It’s time for Ethiopian transitional government in exile

In September 2006, Ethiopian Review had called on the opposition parties to set up a transitional government in exile. Three years later, the parties are still unable to come together and create a viable alternative that can replace the Woyanne tribal regime without engulfing Ethiopia in crisis.

Now, more than ever, conditions are conducive to create a transitional government in exile in order to facilitate a regime change in Ethiopia. There is a new player in the field, Ginbot 7, a legitimate successor to Kinijit, that has a cohesive and dynamic leadership. The Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front (EPPF), an armed resistance group, is stronger than ever with several thousand well trained fighters. OLF, TPDM, and ONLF have strong military presence inside Ethiopia. The only thing missing is a unified political and military leadership that is able to present itself to the people of Ethiopia and that international community that there is an alternative to the Woyanne regime.

A revised version of what Ethiopian Review proposed in 2006

The government in exile is necessary for the following reasons:

1) highlights the illegitimacy of the dictatorship in power.

2) its presence helps exert increasing international and domestic pressure on the dying regime, expediting its inevitable fall down.

3) serves as a rallying point for the people of Ethiopia.

4) the international community will see that there is a better alternative that will be able to bring democracy, peace and stability in the Horn of Africa region.

5) there will be a planned, smooth transition of power, avoiding potential chaos.

6) defeats the Meles regime’s “divide and conquer” strategy.

Planning the government in exile starting now will give time for thorough discussions among the political parties, scholars, and the public at large. There is nothing to be gained by waiting.

Structure of the proposed Transitional Government

A proposal by Ethiopian Review

The Transitional Government will be headed by a five-member Presidency Council–a president and four vice-presidents.

The Presidency Council (PC) will have a three-year term. At the end of the three-year term, there will be a national election under a new constitution.

The presidency rotates every 12-month.

Decisions in the PC will be made by consensus.

The PC’s decisions will be carried out by a Council of Ministers.

The Council of Ministers (CM) will be composed of a prime minister (PM) and two deputy prime ministers (DPMs).

The PM and DPMs will be appointed by the PC.

Prime Minister –
Deputy Prime Minister –
Deputy Prime Minister –
Minister of Defense –
Minister of Foreign Affairs –
Minister of Justice –
Minister of Interior –
Minister of Finance –
Minister of Agriculture –
Minister of Industry –

The rest of the CM members will be appointed by the PM with the consent of the PC and the DPMs.

The CM will serve during the three-year transition period.

The PC’s primary task will be to prepare the country for elections within three years.

In preparation for the elections, the PC will:

1. create an election committee composed of one representative from each party, including those that are not part of the PC.

2. convene a Constitutional Convention (CC) composed of representatives from each woreda (district) of the country, as well as representatives of civic, religious, labor, and other groups.

Activities while in exile

1. The Transitional Government in exile, upon its formation, will contact all governments around the world and seek recognition as the legitimate government of Ethiopia.

2. Merge the EPPF, OLF, ONLF, TPDM, and SLF fighters under one unified command to be named Ethiopian Armed Forces.

3. Contact each military officer in the army under the Meles regime and persuade him/her to join the legitimate Ethiopian Armed Forces.

4. All the ministers in the Transitional Government in Exile will start to carry out their responsibilities. For example, the Minister of Foreign Affair will mobilize international support for the government in exile; the Minister of Justice will investigate officials of the Meles regime for crimes against humanity and corruption; the Ministers of Finance, Industry and Agriculture will create an economic team that will prepare a plan on how to grow the country’s economy during the transition period; etc

The danger of not setting up a government in exile

1. When the Meles regime collapses, chaos could reign in the country for several days, or weeks. A well executed plan by the transitional government in exile will prevent that.

2. The Meles regime will continue to incite ethnic conflict.

3. An unknown armed force could come to power and install another dictatorship.

4. The unity of Ethiopia will be in grave danger as ethnic-based parties become militarily and politically more powerful and decide to stick to their independence agenda when they see for them no political space under the Ethiopian tent. The Transitional Government will give political space for these ethnic-based parties to address the concerns and grievances of their constituencies under a united Ethiopia using democratic means such as elections, courts, dialogue, etc.