>>5921856It would seem that relations with neighbors have improved under your regime, improved considerable actually. These neighbors which are housing rebels or are ethnically related to various populations within your nation, appear to be encouraging and supportive of peace.
At the same time the usual forces that violently want there to be an Ethiopian national identity are pacified by your measures to strength the military and the fact that a centralized military junta is in power.
<span class="mu-s">2005</span>
As the next year dawns, you begin to realize a problem. This was supposed to be the year that elections happen, they're supposed to happen in the Fall. In order for elections to proceed properly, you're going to have to allow them and allow people to start organizing as soon as the Spring, if not sooner.
If elections happen or not, you decide it's best to check and see what your approval ratings are and which of the major political parties support you.
<span class="mu-s">Ruling Party</span>
<span class="mu-i">The current ruling political party is the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).</span>
<span class="mu-i">It consists of four political parties: Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) and Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM).</span>
The SEPDM and ODP almost certainly will back you. If there is elections, they will form a coalition and select you as the candidate for that coalition. The Oromo factions in the country are discouraging protesting and their ethnic clan leaders appear to be prepared to fight in order to maintain the current regime. The Somalians and other small groups seem in a similar situation.
This means about 40% of the nations militias can be mustered on your side, and more than half the military.
The Amhara historically have mistreated the Oromo and have been the second top ethnic group, after the very favored Tigray people. Neither the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara Democratic Party (ADP) have indicated they will support you, but they also haven't indicated they will run against you in the event of an election.
Actually, you are in a strange and unexpected condition. About a year ago you had been looking for rebels to crush, and couldn't really find any. It turns out the rebels were in Eritrea, and were Oromo successionists. However, these successionists are now willing to turn in some portion of their weapons, and register the rest as state-supporting militias. They also seek to integrate into the national military.
It comes at a cost however. They seek a great many amnesties and some of their own people will be punished, but they will be picked out by the successionists or given light punishments.
