Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned Feb. 15 amid continued discontent in the country and disagreements within his ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Desalegn assumed power after Meles Zenawi died in 2012, but the government had been facing demonstrations since 2015 that largely centered on its inability to manage Ethiopia's ethnic differences. Though Desalegn hails from the small Wolayta group, Ethiopia's Tigray minority — which comprises just 6 percent of the country's population — has largely wielded power over more numerous groups such as the Amhara (29 percent of the population) and the Oromo (34 percent) since rebels led by Zenawi overthrew a communist government in 1991.

In summer 2016, hundreds of people died in Oromo and Amhara areas after the security services deployed force against demonstrators who had been engaging in sit-ins and street protests against the government. At times, there also have been sporadic guerrilla attacks on security forces. However, because the protests have occurred in peripheral areas and demonstrators have failed to develop a united front to unseat the Tigray-led government, the unrest does not represent an existential threat to Addis Ababa — even as it continues to present a thorn in the side of the capital.

Accordingly, the biggest threat to Desalegn's rule was not external protests but rather cracks within his ruling party. Desalegn's administration lacked the same unity as Zenawi's government, and it appears Desalegn opted to resign after the EPRDF failed to come to an internal consensus as to whether it should placate protesters with more concessions or crush them with force.

Desalegn's departure is not expected to usher in stability anytime soon. With his successor unlikely to address the protesters' continued grievances, low-scale demonstrations are set to provide more headaches for Addis Ababa.