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This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Ethiopia |
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Judiciary |
General elections were held in Ethiopia on 14 June 1987 for seats in its Shengo . This was the first election since Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed in the Ethiopian Revolution as well as the first–and as it turned out, only–election under the 1987 constitution, which replaced the Derg regime with the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE).
The new Ethiopian Constitution, adopted by a referendum held on 1 February 1987, provided for a national parliament, the Shengo, as the nominal supreme organ of state power. The date of the general elections was officially announced only two days in advance. In the running for the Shengo's 835 seats were some 2,500 candidates, mostly nominated by the Communist Workers' Party of Ethiopia, the country's only legally permitted party. [1] The WPE won 795 seats, with independents taking the remaining 40 seats. Voter turnout was reported to be 90.5%. [2]
In May 1991, four years into the Shengo's five-year term, the PDRE was overthrown by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. Following a three-year transition period, elections for a Constituent Assembly were held in 1994.
Party | Votes | % | Seats |
---|---|---|---|
Workers' Party of Ethiopia | 12,981,957 | 99.2 | 795 |
Independents | 104,693 | 0.8 | 40 |
Invalid/blank votes | 2,998,350 | - | - |
Total | 16,085,900 | 100 | 835 |
Source: Nohlen, et alia |
The politics of Ethiopia arise from the way the government of Ethiopia is structured as well as socioeconomic factors. The country's government is structured as a federal parliamentary republic with both a President and Prime Minister.
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Laos elects a legislature nationally and the public also participates in the election of village heads. The National Assembly has 149 members, elected for five year terms.
The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) was a communist state that existed in Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991.
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Fikre Selassie Wogderess was the Prime Minister of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) from 10 September 1987 to 8 November 1989.
General elections were held in Ethiopia on 7 and 18 May 1995 for seats in its Council of People's Representatives; elections in the Afar, Somali, and Harari Regions were delayed until 28 June to assign experienced personnel who could solve possible conflicts and irregularities. This was the first multi-party election in Ethiopia. Several opposition parties boycotted the election, including the All-Amhara People's Organization, Council of Alternative Forces for Peace and Democracy in Ethiopia, and Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party.
Ethiopia held general elections on 14 May and 31 August 2000 for seats in both its national House of Peoples' Representatives and several regional government councils. Although several opposition parties boycotted the election, 17 parties including the All-Amhara People's Organization, the Southern Ethiopia Peoples' Democratic Coalition (SEPDC), and the Oromo National Congress did participate.
The current Constitution of Ethiopia, which is the supreme law of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, came into force on 21 August 1995. The constitution was drawn up by the Constituent Assembly that was elected in June 1994. It was adopted by the Transitional Government of Ethiopia in December 1994 and came into force following the general election held in May–June 1995.
Ethiopia held nationwide elections for local offices in the kebele and woreda assemblies on 13 and 20 April 2008. By-elections were also held for seats in the Addis Ababa City Council, and in the national and regional parliaments that were vacant due to the Coalition for Unity and Democracy’s (CUD) refusal to participate at the same time. By law, the local elections were supposed to be held as part of the 2005 general elections, but due to the resulting unrest they were postponed.
Elections for a Constituent Assembly were held in Ethiopia on 5 June 1994 in order to form a body to draw up a new constitution. They were the first elections after the overthrow of the Mengistu regime at the end of the Ethiopian Civil War in 1991, and the first ever multi-party elections in the country; previous elections had either been non-partisan or one-party. The results saw the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front and its allies win 463 of the 544 seats. Voter turnout was 87.5%.
A constitutional referendum was held in Ethiopia on 1 February 1987. The new constitution would make the country a one-party state with the Workers' Party of Ethiopia as the sole legal party. It was approved by 81% of voters, with a 96.3% turnout, and was promulgated on 22 February.
The Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE) was established immediately after the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) seized power from the Communist-led People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) in 1991 and it continued until 1995, when it transitioned into the reconstituted Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, which continues to this time. Meles Zenawi was the president and Tamrat Layne the prime minister of the Transitional Government.
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Parliamentary elections were held in Ethiopia on 24 May 2015 to elect officials to the House of Peoples' Representatives. Regional Assembly elections were also held on this date.
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