TPLF Leaders Back Move To Reinstate Tigray Regional Council, Escalate Pressure Over Pretoria Deal

Minteesinot Niggusie

Senior officials of Tigray People's Liberation Front have endorsed a decision to reinstate the Tigray regional council, signalling a shift away from the interim administration established under the Pretoria Agreement and raising fresh questions over the implementation of the post-war settlement.

In a statement issued after consultations among district, city and zonal leaders, the party said restoring the suspended council was now a “historical and urgent demand,” arguing that continued reliance on the interim arrangement no longer reflected political realities on the ground.

The declaration frames the move as a response to what TPLF describes as the federal government’s failure to fully implement the Pretoria deal, including the withdrawal of forces from contested areas and the return of displaced populations. It also accuses the administration of Prosperity Party of undermining the agreement, allegations the federal authorities have previously rejected.

The statement revisits the roots of the conflict, presenting Tigray’s earlier regional election, in which about 2.8 million people participated, as a reaffirmation of self-rule. That vote, held in defiance of federal authorities, became a flashpoint in the lead-up to the war that erupted in November 2020.

TPLF officials said the peace deal, signed in Pretoria in November 2022, had failed to deliver meaningful relief for civilians despite halting large-scale hostilities. They pointed to ongoing humanitarian challenges, displacement and insecurity in parts of Tigray, while also alleging demographic changes in areas outside the control of the interim administration.

The group reiterated its commitment to a negotiated resolution with the federal government but warned that patience had limits. “Continuing under the interim administration has lost its meaning,” the statement said, adding that restoring the regional council would provide a political centre to organise what it described as an existential struggle.

The endorsement includes a pledge by local and senior leaders to support the council’s return and to mobilise administrative and political structures accordingly. It also calls on other Tigrayan political actors and supporters, both domestically and abroad, to align behind the move.