Ethiopia’s upper house of parliament on Wednesday unanimously gave the green light to the creation of a 12th regional state, called the “Southern Ethiopian Region”, following a recent referendum in the south of the country.
According to a press release from the Upper House, the decision was made in response to the desire expressed through a referendum by six zones and five special districts that were previously integrated into the SNNPR (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region). These areas will now form the “Southern Ethiopian Region”, although specific details regarding the terms and deadlines for this new organization were not provided.
The referendum, held on February 6, allowed the residents of the concerned areas to decide on their regrouping within a new region. The results initially showed overwhelming support for integration into a new region. However, due to irregularities in one of the zones, the Wilayat zone, the ballot was reorganized on June 19, with another decisive result in favor of joining the new region.
Ethiopia’s current Constitution, adopted in 1995, divides the country into nine regional states based on ethno-linguistic criteria. Each regional state has significant powers within the federal system. Unlike the other regions that are largely ethnically homogeneous, the SNNPR housed several minority groups among the approximately 80 ethnicities in Ethiopia. This diversity has been a source of tension and violence in recent years.
Article 47 of the Constitution allows any “Nation, nationality, or people belonging to one of the regional states” to form its own regional state through a referendum. However, such aspirations were strongly restricted by the federal government until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came into power in 2018. His reformist agenda, aimed at addressing territorial and identity claims after decades of Tigrayan minority rule, has facilitated the emergence of new regional states.
The “Southern Ethiopian Region” is the third region to be established under Prime Minister Abiy’s leadership. It follows the creation of the Sidama region in 2020 and the South-West Ethiopia Region at the end of 2021, both of which emerged from the SNNPR. The SNNPR, which previously comprised twenty administrative subdivisions, now only has six.
Ethiopia has experienced significant community tensions and conflicts in recent years, often resulting in casualties. Many of these disputes stem from land conflicts associated with administrative divisions.