After accepting a request by the Sidama Zonal Administration for self-administration and establishment of a separate regional state, the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples' Regional State and its Council are preparing to hold a referendum to determine the zonal administration’s demand.

Following the newly enforced restructurings of government institutions under the executive branch, appointments of officials by the Prime Minister continues to reach key institutions.

Leaders of Semayawi Party, a.k.a. Blue Party, one of the prominent opposition political parties in Ethiopia, announced this week that it is revising its program, bylaw, and manifesto in a way to adjust itself with the ongoing political situation in the country and become an alternative political force in the upcoming national election.

In a conflict that erupted in West Oromia, Qellem Wellega zone, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)/ABO – whose supporters are alleged to be active in those areas – protested against the deployment of the national army by the government, The Reporter has learnt.

Following the most contested election of 2005 and the gruesome violence which ensued after that, led by the United Kingdom a number of European nations either halted or refrained from providing direct budgetary support to the Government of Ethiopia.

Taking the nation in a sweeping fashion, the nomination and election of women to key posts reached the Federal Supreme Court with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) nominating Meaza Ashenafi – the renowned legal expert and human rights activist – as its first ever female president to preside over the court.

Jigjiga, the capital city of Somali Regional State, has been hit by protest and demonstration this week claiming the lives of three people and leaving four people injured, The Reporter has learnt.

In its session that was held today, the House of People’s Representatives elected a president and vice president for the Federal Supreme Court. Accordingly, Meaza Ashenafi has been elected to serve as president. Meaza is the first woman to sit at the helm of the country’s highest judicial organ.

Blue Party has stated the need for a leadership that would represent the people of Addis Ababa based on their desires and demands, and will in turn be determined to promote the benefits of the people of the city for the advancement of democratic rights and freedoms throughout the country.

Days after approving a gender-balanced cabinet, lawmakers of both the upper and lower houses– the House of People’s Representatives (HPR) and the House of the Federation (HoF) unanimously elected Sahlework Zewde as the first female President of Ethiopia, replacing the outgoing president, Mulatu Teshome (PhD).