Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday congratulated the Sidama people who voted in a referendum held in the country’s south on Wednesday, reported Africa News.
The vote has been held to determine the statehood of the Sidama, Ethiopia’s fifth largest ethnic group, currently located in the Southern Nations and Nationalities and Peoples’ Region, SNNPR.
“Congratulations to citizens and institutions involved in holding a peaceful and democratic referendum for Sidama statehood. The voting process is demonstrative of our capacity for taking our differences to the ballot and allowing democratic processes to prevail,” Abiy’s office wrote in a Twitter post.
Over two million people were on the voter register for the referendum as the Sidama Zone moves to become Ethiopia’s tenth regional state within the federal structure. Ethiopia’s nine regional states currently have a level of autonomy where they are able to choose their official language and have limited powers over taxation, education, health and land administration.
Notably, the referendum on creating a new region is part of a constitutional process that is expected to meet ethnic ambitions in one part of the country. As per Ethiopia’s constitution, every ethnic group has the right to demand their own regional state. A delay in holding the vote in Sidama earlier this year led to violence that killed at least 25 people.
The referendum is expected to get approval by a large margin following which the Sidama ethnic group, who constitutes about 4 percent of the country’s population, will control the region.
A new federal-state would mean the Sidama people will have the authority to make their own policies, control a regional police force and be in charge of a budget that could be spent on the priorities of their people. It would also give them greater linguistic and cultural recognition.
The results of the referendum are expected to be out on Thursday.
