አንድ የቻተኸም ሃውስ ተንታኝ፣ ‹‹ምስጢራዊው እና ውስብስቡ የትብብር ውቅር›› የሆነው ኢህአዴግ ውስጥ በተካሄዱ ምርጫዎች ድል ስላገኙት አቢይ ሲፅፍ፣ ‹‹እርሳቸው ከመጀመሪያውኑ ብዙዎችን ለሃገሪቱ መረጋጋት፣ አንድነት እና ለውጥን እንደሚያመጡ አሳምነው ነበር፡፡›› ብሏል፡፡
One Chatham House analyst writing about the elections ascribed his victory to the “secretive and complex alliance-building” among the four political parties that make up the EPRDF, and noted that he “seems early on to have persuaded many he can bring stability, unity and reform to the country.”