ADDIS ABABA: After a week of solemn remembrance for Ethiopia's late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the country is beginning to feel a slight uncertainty as acting Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has yet to be officially sworn in by the country's Parliament. He was supposed to be sworn in on Thursday, but the ruling Ethiopian People's Democratic Front (EPRDF) delayed the appointment. According to local reports and party members, the executive council failed to reach a unanimous decision on the election procedures that would have seen Desalegn ascend to the country's top position. The result has thrown much uncertainty into the political fray in Ethiopia as the country searches for a new future following Meles' death. “We just want to move forward and get things back on track,” a shopkeeper in Addis Ababa told Bikyamasr.com. The delay has led many to believe there are internal political divisions inside the ruling party and some members believe Desalegn is not the right person to lead the East African country. This comes despite a August 21 meeting of ministers that endorsed the acting prime minister. But the ruling party's Tuesday meeting has seen this decision revoked. “Within those who are in a struggle of a common goal, the instalment of leadership is an easy issue as it is simply assigning a comrade who would pay huge sacrifices … and rather the focus should be on our respective duties" a statement from the party read. It highlights the growing debate over the future of Ethiopia's political situation, with many calling for dramatic changes to the current status quo of absolute power by the ruling party. Earlier this month, leading Ethiopian political thinker and professor Alemayehu G. Mariam said the time is now for Ethiopia to have “radical improvements" in its social and political climate following the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. “I say today is the perfect time for all Ethiopians to bury the hatchet of ethnic division, religious sectarianism, regional conflict and human rights violations," Mariam wrote in an opinion article. “It is the perfect time to shake hands, embrace each other and get our noses to the grindstone to build a new democratic Ethiopia where the rule of law is upheld and human rights and democratic institutions respected." He argued that the situation facing Ethiopia does not need to be a painful process of change and that the new leadership should learn from the past two decades and its impact on the people. “Today, not tomorrow, is the best time to put an end to historic hatreds and resentments and open a new chapter in Ethiopia's history. Today is the best time to unchain ourselves from the burdens of the past, close the wounds that have festered for generations and declare to future generations that we will no longer be prisoners of resentments of the past," the professor argued. Dozens of African leaders and other foreign dignitaries on Sunday paid tribute to Ethiopia's late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at the country's first state funeral in 80 years. Many of the African leaders praised the Prime Minister, who passed away late on August 20, with some calling him a “hero." “The prime minister was a beacon of hope in Africa and he should be remembered as a hero for all the outstanding work that he has achieved in his lifetime," said Malawi's Deputy Prime Minister Khumbo Kachali. Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi said the death of Meles was “a great loss" not just for Ethiopia but for the African continent because of his vision and his support of Pan-Africanism. Zenawi was born on May 8, 1955 and came to power in the early 1990s as prime minister, holding this position until Tuesday. He ruled the country with an iron grip, and the past few months has shown his strength over the country was not one that all Ethiopians enjoyed. According to Opride.com, “the former rebel-leader dropped out of Addis Ababa University's Medical School, where he studied for two years, to join the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front in 1974. He has been the chairman of both the TPLF and the ruling coalition, Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front, since 1989." There is a tentative hope that democracy and human rights can be part of the transition away from authoritarian rule. Still, many experts have pointed to the reality that Ethiopia is unlikely to see democracy or a change in the status quo, despite the two decades rule of Zenawi coming to an end. For a university student group made up of Christians and Muslims, which they have dubbed themselves “Concerned Ethiopian Students" they are hopeful that the change can be made for the better. “We have long face this kind of attack from the government if we speak out, so we really want to see democratic change in Ethiopia because it will mean a better country for all," the group told Bikyamasr.com. “Ethiopia deserves a country that is not ruled by one person, but a place where citizens and the people have a say in our future."
