ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn submitted his resignation Thursday in an apparent bid to ease political turmoil in a country that is one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.
The announcement came after the government released hundreds of political prisoners, including some prominent opposition members, sparking massive celebrations in parts of the country.
A staunch U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism and the second-most populous country in Africa, Ethiopia is a regional powerhouse with grand economic ambitions. But for the past few years, it has seethed with social unrest. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands have been imprisoned, including top opposition figures.
According to the state-run Ethiopian News Agency, Desalegn resigned both as prime minister and chairman of the ruling party “to be part of the efforts to provide a lasting solution to the current situation.” He added that he would stay on until a successor was chosen.
In his speech, Desalegn noted that people were displaced and injured, and property was damaged in the recent unrest. He said he believed that his resignation was necessary to carry out democratic reforms that are underway.
Widespread demonstrations this week by the Oromo ethnic group — the country’s largest, representing more than a third of Ethiopia’s 100 million people — broke out over the perceived slow pace of prisoner releases promised in January.
Young men blocked roads leading out of the capital with rocks and burning tires, disrupting public transportation. Businesses throughout the vast Oromo region were shuttered as part of a strike.
The strike was lifted Wednesday with the prisoner releases. Opposition figures in Ethiopia’s extensive diaspora claimed that the government capitulated in the face of popular pressure.
Desalegn was seen as a caretaker and consensus figure without a great deal of power, implementing the orders of more influential figures in the army and the ruling Ethiopia People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front. Rumors had circulated widely that he would resign after the party congress scheduled for next month.
