An Ethiopian party will delay the formation of a separatist region

An Ethiopian political party that is campaigning for the creation of a separatist region said Thursday that it was ready to accept new referendum plans announced by the election officials.

Leaders of the Sidama ethnic group in southern Ethiopia had planned to unilaterally declare their own federal state on Thursday – a move that badysts say could exacerbate the political crisis in Ethiopia and cause bloodshed.

At present, Ethiopia is divided into nine semi-autonomous regions. The constitution requires the government to hold a referendum for any ethnic group wishing to form a new entity within the year following its request.

The Sidama have been agitating for years to leave the various southern regions, nationalities and peoples of the South of which they are part and create their own state.

The group – the largest in the state – said the deadline for the referendum was Thursday.

However, the Ethiopian Election Committee said this week that it will hold a referendum before the end of the year. He stated that he had not received the referendum request until November 2018, which meant that he still had several months left to organize the vote.

Although the political party of the Liberation Movement of Sidama has said earlier that a referendum held after July would be unacceptable, spokesman Desalegne Mesa told AFP on Thursday that the party would accept the new timetable in the interest of peace.

"We agree on this point because even if the electoral committee and the ruling coalition ignore the people and the constitution, we are working to minimize the loss of life," he said.

"Our young people are calming down and staying at home, and they must prepare to prepare our referendum program."

It was unclear whether the new party position would be approved by everyone in Hawbada, where residents said the streets were calm on Thursday morning and security forces had stepped up their presence.

Many young people who have mobilized for the creation of a new state are not "satisfied" with the draft of a November referendum and the population is wary of their reaction, said one resident of Hawbada to AFP.

"If nothing happens, people may come out later," said the resident. "I think most people stay at home for the moment."

Sidama's question is the latest headache of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who is determined to reform the country after decades of iron-fist rule, but faces ethnic violence in the diverse country that has displaced more two million people.