Addis Abeba — The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has strongly condemned the recent decisions by the Tigray interim administration to remove and appoint zonal administrators, describing these actions as "contrary to established institutional procedures."
In a letter directed to the party's zonal and district offices, Fatlework Gebreegziabher, the party's secretariat chief, accused the interim administration of "removing previous appointees and making new appointments without adhering to institutional procedures and laws."
She further denounced these actions as "reinforcing an irresponsible approach intended to maintain power and dismantle the TPLF."
Describing these actions as "unacceptable" and "illegal" due to their violation of the party's institutional procedures, she called on party members to "resist them in an organized manner."
She further denounced these actions as "reinforcing an irresponsible approach intended to maintain power and dismantle the TPLF."
This development follows the Tigray interim administration's decision to remove Liya Kassa from her position as administrator of the South East Zone.
Similarly, Teklay Gebremedhin, the administrator of the North Western Zone, was removed from his position over the weekend.
Their removal occurred just days after both individuals were appointed as members of the executive committee during the recently concluded 14th Congress of the party.
Following the conclusion of the congress, the party's chairman, Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD), declared that central committee members and executives who were absent from the conference and involved in the interim administration "do not represent the organization."
He also noted that the leaders of the Central Committee and the Central Control Commission of the Party who withdrew from the 14th General Assembly of the TPLF have no responsibilities beyond continuing as ordinary members.
According to the letter issued by Fatlework, the interim administration's actions "continue to reinforce an irresponsible approach aimed at perpetuating power and undermining the TPLF through the creation and exacerbation of daily regional conflicts, as well as the continued appointment of personal favorites to various zonal positions."
Fetlework highlighted that "the group that has been managing the interim administration on behalf of the TPLF and its actions in removing leaders from their positions constitute an organized conspiracy aimed at eradicating and destroying the TPLF."
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In her letter, she emphasized that "the practice of appointing individuals to certain positions is unacceptable, and it is illegal to assign or remove appointees at the zonal or district level without adhering to established institutional procedures."
The political landscape of Tigray is currently characterized by uncertainty due to an ongoing schism within the TPLF. This division has emerged between party stalwart and TPLF Chairman Debretsion Gebremichael and Getachew Reda, the President of the Tigray Interim Administration, who was recently suspended from party membership during a Congress convened by Debretsion.
Last week, Lieutenant General Tadesse Werede, the deputy president of Tigray's interim administration and head of the cabinet secretariat for peace and security, assured the public that concerted efforts are being made to prevent political disagreements from escalating into security threats within the Tigray region.
In a briefing to regional media, Lieutenant General Tadesse reaffirmed the region's steadfast commitment to ensuring that "only indigenous Tigrayans participate in local political affairs," explicitly rejecting any form of external interference.
