Ethiopian general election, 1995

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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, [1] including the All-Amhara People's Organization, Council of Alternative Forces for Peace and Democracy in Ethiopia, and Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party. [2]

Ethiopia country in East Africa

Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country in the northeastern part of Africa, popularly known as the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With over 102 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and the second-most populous nation on the African continent that covers a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres (420,000 sq mi). Its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa, which lies a few miles west of the East African Rift that splits the country into the Nubian Plate and the Somali Plate.

Afar Region Regional State in Ethiopia

The Afar Regional State is one of the nine regional states (kililoch) of Ethiopia, and is the homeland of the Afar people. Formerly known as Region 2, its new capital as of 2007 is the recently constructed city of Semera, which lies on the paved Awash–Assab highway.

Somali Region Regional State in Ethiopia

The Somali Regional State, is the largest and easternmost of the nine ethnic divisions (kilimo) of Ethiopia. The state borders the Ethiopian states of Afar, the chartered city Dire Dawa, Oromia to the west, as well as Djibouti to the north, Somalia to the north, east, and south, and Kenya to the south-west.

Contents

Background

After President Mengistu Haile Mariam fled the country, a national conference in July 1991 led to the creation of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE). The TGE's main goal was to establish a Constitution for a federal republic, as well as create orderly elections for the legislative arm of that republic. On 5 January 1995, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) set the date for the general elections which would mark the end of the transition, for May of that year.

Mengistu Haile Mariam former dictator of Ethiopia

Mengistu Haile Mariam is an Ethiopian politician who was the leader of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. He was the chairman of the Derg, the military junta that governed Ethiopia, from 1977 to 1987, and the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) from 1987 to 1991. The Derg took power in the Ethiopian Revolution following the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie I in 1974, marking the end of the Solomonic dynasty which had ruled Ethiopia since the 13th century. Mengistu purged rivals for power from the Derg and made himself Ethiopia's dictator, attempting to modernize Ethiopia's feudal economy through Marxist-Leninist-inspired policies such as nationalization and land redistribution. His bloody consolidation of power in 1977–1978 is known as the Ethiopian Red Terror, a brutal crackdown on opposition groups and civilians following a failed assassination attempt by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) in September 1976, after they had ignored the Derg's invitation to join the union of socialist parties.

Transitional Government of Ethiopia transitional government of ethiopia from 1991-1995

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.

A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives and by an elected leader rather than by a king or queen".

Observers considered it a foregone conclusion that the majority of the 547 seats in the House of People's Representatives would be won by the ruling coalition known as the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which had assumed power after overthrowing President Mengistu and had been the dominant force in the TGE. Primary opposition came from the small Ethiopian National Democratic Party, led by Nebiyu Samuel. Four of the seven national parties boycotted the poll, alleging unequal conditions for the various contending groups. Despite this, one source states as many as 2871 candidates competed for seats, [3] although the NEBE reported 2741 candidates competed, consisting of 1881 people from 58 political organizations, mostly components of the EPRDF, and 960 independent candidates. [4]

Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front Ethiopian political coalition

The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front is a left-wing political coalition in Ethiopia. The EPRDF consists of four political parties, namely Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) and Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM).

To handle the millions of citizens who came to cast their votes, 40,000 polling stations were opened. In addition to local observers Britain, the United States, Italy, France, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, Canada, Finland, Norway, and Russia provided observers and the Organization of African Unity deployed 81 observers. The election process was reported to be peaceful with a high turnout in most polling stations throughout the country. [1] Despite this impression of civil behavior, candidates of the Silte People's Democratic Unity Party were harassed, beaten, and prohibited from travelling; Dr. Asrat Woldeyes, secretary-general of the All-Amhara People's Organization, was arrested, convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment for being at a meeting at which armed activities against the TGE were allegedly discussed; and officials of the Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party were arrested in Gondar and Bahir Dar. [5]

Asrat Woldeyes was an Ethiopian surgeon, a professor of medicine at Addis Ababa University, and the founder and leader of the All-Amhara People's Organization (AAPO). He was jailed by the Derg and later by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). After his death, The Guardian described him as "successively Ethiopia's most distinguished surgeon, physician and university dean, most controversial political party leader and best known political prisoner".

All-Amhara Peoples Organization political party

The All-Amhara People's Organization is an ethnic based political party in Ethiopia, whose leader was the late Asrat Woldeyes.

Gondar City in Amhara, Ethiopia

Gondar or Gonder is a city and separate woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the Semien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Tana Lake on the Lesser Angereb River and southwest of the Simien Mountains. It has a latitude and longitude of 12°36′N37°28′E with an elevation of 2133 meters above sea level. It is surrounded by the Gondar Zuria woreda. Gondar served as a strong Christian kingdom for many years.

Results

The EPRDF and its allies won 471 of the 547 seats in the Council, with other parties and independents taking the remaining 75 seats. [6] Most of these seats won by other parties were in "frontier regions" – Afar, Somali, Gambela, Benishagul-Gumuz, and Harar – which were allocated 57 seats. "Competitions in these frontier regions tended to be extremely complicated," notes Lyon, who records such incidents as two brothers who, at one point, offered different candidate lists for the Afar Liberation Front. [7]

Afar Liberation Front

The Afar Liberation Front is an Afar political party and former militant group in Ethiopia. It fought the communist Derg government and the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1975 to 1991. After the Ethiopian Civil War ended in 1991, the ALF continued to promote Afar interests in the country peacefully.

AlliancePartyVotes%Seats
EPRDF-allied Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization 16,429,72782.9176
Amhara National Democratic Movement 133
Tigray People's Liberation Front 38
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front 21
Sidama People's Democratic Organization 19
Gamo and Gofa People's Democratic Organization 15
Gurage Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Organization 14
Wolayta People's Democratic Organization 13
Hadiya People's Democratic Organization 9
Gideo People's Unity Democratic Movement 7
Keficho Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Organization 6
Kembata Peoples' Democratic Organization 4
Dawro Peoples' Democratic Organization 4
Afar Peoples' Democratic Organization 3
Alaba Peoples' Democratic Organization 2
Gambela People's Liberation Party 2
Tembaro Peoples' Democratic Organization 1
Bench Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Organization 1
Konso Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Organization 1
Kore Nationality Unity Democratic Organization 1
Yem People's Democratic Front 1
Other parties and independents Ethiopian Somali Democratic League 3,369,56317.117
Independents10
Southern Omo People's Democratic Movement 7
Southern Ethiopia People's Democratic Front 6
Benishangul North-Western Ethiopia People's Democratic Unity Party 5
Oromo Liberation United Front 4
Ogaden National Liberation Front 3
Derashe Peoples' Democratic Organization 3
Afar Liberation Front 3
Dizi Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Organization 2
Bench, Sheko, Dizi and Meinit People's Democratic Front 2
Argoba People's Democratic Movement 1
Kebena Nationality Democratic Organization 1
Mareko Peoples' Democratic Organization 1
Silte People's Democratic Unity Party 1
Burji Peoples' Democratic Organization 1
Hareri National League 1
Western Somali Democratic Party 1
Zeisei Peoples' Democratic Organization 1
Gambela People's Democratic Unity Party 1
Afar National Liberation Front 1
National Democratic Party 1
Invalid/blank votes159,889--
Total19,986,179100547
Source: Nohlen, et alia

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References

  1. 1 2 "Monthly Situation Report for Ethiopia: May 1995" UNDP-EUE (accessed 19 January 2009)
  2. ↑ "Elections in Ethiopia: (f) Election 1995" Archived 2009-04-08 at the Wayback Machine ., EPRDF website (accessed 29 May 2009)
  3. ↑ Ethiopia Parliamentary Chamber: Elections held in 1995, PARLINE database (accessed 20 October 2009)
  4. ↑ Terrence Lyons, "Closing the Transition: The May 1995 Elections in Ethiopia", Journal of Modern African Studies, 34 (1996), p. 132
  5. ↑ Lyons, "Closing the Transition", pp. 134, 136, 139
  6. ↑ Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p383 ISBN   0-19-829645-2
  7. ↑ Lyons, "Closing the Transition", p. 138
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