At this point, nothing much but at minimum, he should have abolished 4.5, something that has broad support among Somalis.

What a failure.

It's time for him to ride into the sunset

Possibly. TPLF humiliated Abiy today. Let's ser how he reacts.

#Ethiooia update: Voting in #Tigray regional state has kicked off at 6:00 AM this morning.

No shit. I know!

Tomorrow could be a consequential day in Ethiopia or it could spell the beginning of the end for TPLF within Tigray state.

Tillamook, Considering Somalis lack of cohesion and tribal divisions are so entrenched, I don't think there will no immediate benefit, but I do believe this will be beneficial in the long run as a stable Somalia will be in the interest of a lot of stakeholders.

I remember Taleex as a kid. Good to see it taking off.

Mouradi1, Abiy was the compromise candidate favored by the IC and he was less polarizing, unlike Lemma. He was palatable to the Oromo because the Oromo masses thought he was one of them, and Amhara extremists believed they could manipulate. The Tigray was simply told to behave. The IC will definitely try to keep Ethiopia together. But unlike the Ethiopia of the past, what we have today is a highly polarized population, the rise of ethnonationalism with defined regional borders, and well-armed paramilitary troops. The center is losing power every day and the periphery is getting stronger. Abiy or any future leader cannot take the country back to a centralized system of governance and the current ethnic federalism will lead to further division and aspirations for complete autonomy or outright independence. I don't see Ethiopia adopting true federalism as we understand in other countries; the choice comes to heavily centralized state or ethnic federalism with even more autonomy. Even some in Western circles are beginning to imagine disintegrated Ethiopia.

Who could replace him that they can keep those three at bay?

Ethiopian lawmakers call region’s vote unconstitutional JOHANNESBURG — Ethiopia’s upper house of parliament on Saturday called elections planned next week in the northern Tigray region unconstitutional, amid a confrontation between the federal government and regional officials who have warned that any intervention amounts to a “declaration of war.” “The decision by the House of Federation treats the act of the Tigray regional state as void from the very beginning,” legal expert Kiya Tsegaye told The Associated Press. “This makes the election unconstitutional and illegitimate. I think this decision will be the base for the next legal action by the federal government.” Regional officials in Tigray have opposed the year-long postponement of Ethiopia’s general election, once planned for August, and the continuation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s mandate beyond term limits. They have organized their own election for Sept. 9. The federal government has said the postponement relates to the COVID-19 pandemic and should be respected. Members of the upper house of parliament from the Tigray region boycotted its meeting Saturday. The Sept. 9 vote will elect members of the regional parliament, which in turn will elect the region’s cabinet and administrators. Ethiopia’s prime minister has ruled out a military intervention to deal with the confrontation, but there are fears that any punitive measures by the federal government could escalate tensions further. The standoff with Ethiopia’s northern region is just the latest challenge to the administration of Abiy, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year in part for the sweeping political reforms since he took office in early 2018. The loosening of the former government’s repressive measures, however, have opened the way for certain long-held grievances and requests by some regions for more autonomy. The former government was largely led by people from the Tigray region, exacerbating the tensions. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.