President of Chamber of Commerce declines running for second term

“I believe my candidacy won’t be as much effective as leaving the Chamber [now]”: Mulu Solomon

Kiram Tadesse

Mulu Solomon, the first female President of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, says she will not stand for the second term in the upcoming presidential election of the Chamber scheduled to take place tomorrow.

 In an exclusive interview with Addis Standard, Mulu said she decided not to run for the second term for a sheer intention of setting an example of the “power switching trend in the Chamber”.

“We have seen many people who couldn’t easily leave the power once they come up as a president or board of directors; we have even seen some who have served for ten to thirteen years” she said adding, “I want to teach them that we should not build individuals but the Chamber”.

Mulu said she knew that “if I stand for the election, people will vote for me unanimously, but leaving the seat on the basis of care and common understanding leads the Chamber and the position not to be a source of collision and arguments”, as was the case in past. “There are a lot of people who critically begged me to run for the second term, I can say almost all of our chamber members but I am telling them that I will be not standing again”.

However, Mulu said, “I am always there to help the newly elected president. That is what I wanted to show and I believe my candidacy won’t be as much effective as leaving the Chamber [now]”.

Mulu Solomon has been president of the Chamber for a little over two years.