Ethiopia Delays Regional Referendum

Ethiopia has postponed a decision on a referendum requested by members of the Sidama ethnic group in July of last year.

The ballot would give the group an opportunity to vote on whether they wish to form a new independent region, leaving the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region to which they currently belong. As it stands Ethiopia is divided into nine semi-autonomous regions with the constitution providing for the creation of new regions through referenda.

Leading up to a decision on whether the requested referendum would be approved there have been several protests, with local leaders suggesting that if the government refused their request they could move to unilaterally break away from the region.

According to the constitution the government should have responded to the request within a year of its submission. While the deadline was July 18 the Sidama Liberation Movement has indicated that it has agreed to a new deadline put forward by the election board in the interests of preserving peace.