ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government on Tuesday confirmed that Bereket Simon, a stalwart of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) for more than 30 years, has requested to resign from an influential post.
Negeri Lencho, minister of Government Communication Affairs Office, said Simon has offered to resign from his position as deputy director general of Ethiopia Policy Study and Research Center, a ministerial post.
Lencho said the government is still reviewing the request.
Simon is a founding member of Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), one of the parties in the EPRDF coalition. He once served as minister of information.
Simon's resignation request came one week after the resignation of another senior EPRDF official, Abadula Gemeda, as speaker of the Ethiopian parliament.
Gemeda is a founding member of another EPRDF coalition member party, Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO).
The resignation of Gemeda and the resignation request of Simon have ignited speculation on possible division between the member parties of EPRDF.
Ethiopia was rocked by a series of deadly protests in 2016, particularly in the Amhara and Oromia regional states, with protestors accusing the EPRDF of economic and political marginalization.
The government, blaming bad governance and corruption for public discontent, has since launched a large-scale anti-corruption campaign and arrested high-profile individuals as part of its reform agenda.
