Ahead of Elections, Ethiopia Prepares to Establish an Interim Administration in Tigray
Ethiopian authorities are moving to reorganise internal affairs in Tigray following the entry of government forces into the regional capital, including through the establishment of a new interim administration.
Abraham Belay, head of the Ethiopian Nuclear Energy Commission and former president of Tigray’s interim administration, has announced that preparations are under way to form a new transitional authority in the region. The move is intended to pave the way for regional elections within the next few months.
In an interview on current developments published by Ethiopian media, Belay said the federal government was working to establish a new administrative structure that would enable the people of Tigray to manage their own affairs. He said the initiative would help restore security and stability across the region.
He added that the Ethiopian armed forces were continuing operations to remove illegal armed groups from Tigray. This would be followed by the establishment of new administrative structures beginning at the kebele level—the local neighbourhood or village tier—and proceeding upwards, with direct participation from local communities.
Belay said preparations were accelerating to complete the transitional phase and hold regional elections within months. He called on all Ethiopians to support federal efforts to conclude the current period and enable Tigray’s residents to participate actively in the country’s national development.
He also accused domestic and foreign actors of attempting to destabilise Ethiopia, explicitly alleging that Eritrean forces were participating in the conflict alongside the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and other groups he described as “anti-peace forces”.
Belay said national security institutions were responding firmly to these threats through military discipline, advanced technical capabilities and a high level of operational readiness. He also praised what he described as the “tangible popular rejection in Tigray of destructive political agendas”.
Developments on the ground
Fighters and leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front evacuated Mekelle, the regional capital, on Saturday as forces affiliated with Ethiopia’s federal authorities advanced towards the city, according to Agence France-Presse.
The agency quoted a local journalist as saying that TPLF fighters and leaders were “leaving Mekelle”. The journalist added that government offices and police stations had been abandoned by security personnel.
The Tigray Peace Forces, a group allied with Ethiopia’s federal government, said it had retaken control of the main airport in the northern regional capital.
“We have established full control over Mekelle’s Alula Aba Nega Airport. We are currently conducting clearance operations across the city,” the group said in a post on X.
Years of tension between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front escalated into open conflict on Wednesday of the previous week after the Front launched attacks that extended into the Afar and Amhara regions of northern Ethiopia.
The continuing fighting in Tigray and the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions has led to the collapse of the Pretoria peace agreement. Signed four years ago, the accord had ended a war in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed.
