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. [1]
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.
At the federal level, Ethiopia elects a legislature. The Federal Parliamentary Assembly has two chambers: the Council of People's Representatives with not more than 550 members as per the constitution but actually nearly 547 members, elected for five-year terms in single-seat constituencies; and the Council of the Federation with 117 members, one each from the 22 minority nationalities, and one from each professional sector of its remaining nationalities, designated by the regional councils, which may elect them themselves or through popular elections.
The House of Peoples' Representatives is the lower chamber of the Ethiopian Federal Parliamentary Assembly, the House of Federation being the upper chamber. Together they comprise the legislature of Ethiopia. The House has 547 members, elected for five-year terms in single-seat constituencies.
In round one, held on 14 May, there were 20,252,000 registered voters, of whom 90% voted. the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) member parties captured 481 of the 547 seats in the national election. Independents won 13 seats and other parties won 53. Six of the seven constituencies in the Hadiya Zone where elections were run, were won by the Hadiya National Democratic Organization led by Beyene Petros.
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).
Hadiya is a Zone in the Ethiopian Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR). This zone is named after the Hadiya of the Hadiya Kingdom, whose homeland covers part of the administrative division. Hadiya is bordered on the south by Kembata Tembaro (KT), on the southwest by the Dawro Zone, on the west by the Omo River which separates it from Oromia Region and the Yem Special Woreda, on the north by Gurage, on the northeast by Silte, and on the east by the Alaba special woreda; the woredas of Mirab Badawacho and Misraq Badawacho form an exclave separated from the rest of the zone by KT. The administrative center of Hadiya is Hosaena.
Beyene Petros (Ph.D.) is a professor of Biology at Addis Ababa University and a former member of the Ethiopian House of People's Representatives, representing an electoral district in Badawacho of Hadiya Zone. He is currently the chairman of one of the largest opposition political parties in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Forum Medrek.
The second round was held on August 31 for the Somali Region alone, with 23 seats reserved for the region in the House of Peoples' Representatives and the 168 seats in the State Council. About 75% of the 1.15 million registered voters in the Region cast ballots. Announced results gave 19 of the seats to the SPDP, and the remaining four to independent candidates.
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.
In the Regional elections, either the EPRDF or one of its member parties won the election except in Afar (where the Afar National Democratic Party won 84 of the 87 local seats), Benishangul-Gumuz (where the Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front won 71 of the 80 seats), Gambela (where the Gambela People's Democratic Front won 40 of the 53 seats), and Somali (where the Somali People's Democratic Party won 150 of the 168 seats).
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.
The Afar National Democratic Party is a political party in Ethiopia. At the last legislative elections, 15 May 2005, the party won 8 seats, all from the Afar Region. The current Minister of Social Affairs and the Deputy Chairman of Pastoralist Affairs are members of the party.
Benishangul-Gumuz, also known as Benshangul/Gumuz, is one of the nine ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia. It was previously known as Region 6. The region's capital is Assosa. Following the adoption of the 1995 constitution, the Region was created from the westernmost portion of the Gojjam province, and the northwestern portion of the Welega Province. The name of the region comes from two local ethnic groups – Berta and Gumuz.
According to observers organized by Ethiopian Human Rights Council, local U.N. staff, diplomatic missions, political parties, and domestic non-governmental organizations, both the general and the regional elections that year were generally free and fair in most areas; however, serious election irregularities occurred in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), particularly in the Hadiya Zone.
Non-governmental organizations, nongovernmental organizations, or nongovernment organizations, commonly referred to as NGOs, are usually non-profit and sometimes international organizations independent of governments and international governmental organizations that are active in humanitarian, educational, health care, public policy, social, human rights, environmental, and other areas to effect changes according to their objectives. They are thus a subgroup of all organizations founded by citizens, which include clubs and other associations that provide services, benefits, and premises only to members. Sometimes the term is used as a synonym of "civil society organization" to refer to any association founded by citizens, but this is not how the term is normally used in the media or everyday language, as recorded by major dictionaries. The explanation of the term by NGO.org is ambivalent. It first says an NGO is any non-profit, voluntary citizens' group which is organized on a local, national or international level, but then goes on to restrict the meaning in the sense used by most English speakers and the media: Task-oriented and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of service and humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to Governments, advocate and monitor policies and encourage political participation through provision of information.
Serious election irregularities in the SNNPR
According to observers organized by Ethiopian Human Rights Council, local U.N. staff, diplomatic missions, political parties, and domestic non-governmental organizations, both the general and the regional elections that year were generally free and fair in most areas; however, serious election irregularities occurred in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), particularly in the Hadiya Zone. As a result, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) investigated the complaints and determined that many of them had merit. These included incidents of election officials instructing voters for whom to vote, candidates campaigning at polling stations, and candidates being pressured into quitting. There also were credible reports of ballot stuffing, vote count fraud, voter intimidation or bribery, dismissals from work, withholding of salaries, detentions, abductions, and killings. [1]
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) is an autonomous government agency which supervises the national elections of Ethiopia. The NEBE was established by Proclamation number 64/1992, and answers to the House of Peoples' Representatives.
In its annual report on Human Rights, the US State Department stated that there were numerous credible reports that persons who supported or voted for opposition candidates were harassed. For example, there were credible reports that ruling party personnel withheld fertilizer and food aid in the SNNPR as retaliation for voters electing opposition candidates. According to the SEPDC, some of their supporters were suspended or dismissed from their jobs in retaliation, and some teachers in the SNNPR who served as SEPDC election observers found their salaries were withheld and were denied entry to summer update courses. many civil servants who supported the opposition were fired from their positions. [1]
Results
In round one, held on 14 May, there were 20,252,000 registered voters, of whom 90% voted. [2] Results were announced in mid-June by the NEBE: the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) captured 481 of the 547 seats in the national election, broken down between its members as follows: the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization winning 183, the Amhara National Democratic Movement 143, the Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement 112, and the Tigray People's Liberation Front 40. Independents won 13 seats and other parties won 53. [3] Six of the seven constituencies in the Hadiya Zone where elections were run, were won by the Hadiya National Democratic Organization led by Beyene Petros. [4]
The second round was held August 31 for the Somali Region alone. Candidates from the Alliance of Somali Democratic Forces, the Western Somali Democratic Party, and the Somali People's Democratic Party (SPDP), as well as 156 private candidates contested the 23 seats reserved for the region in the House of Peoples' Representatives and the 168 seats in the State Council. About 75% of the 1.15 million registered voters in the Region cast ballots. Announced results gave 19 of the seats to the SPDP, and the remaining four to independent candidates. [2]
In the Regional elections, either the EPRDF or one of its member parties won the election except in Afar (where the Afar National Democratic Party won 84 of the 87 local seats), Benishangul-Gumuz (where the Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front won 71 of the 80 seats), Gambela (where the Gambela People's Democratic Front won 40 of the 53 seats), and Somali (where the Somali People's Democratic Party won 150 of the 168 seats). [5]
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
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.
The government of Ethiopia is structured in a framework of a federal parliamentary republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. The prime minister is chosen by the parliament. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament. The Judiciary is more or less independent of the executive and the legislature. They are governed under the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia. There is a bicameral parliament made of the 108-seat house of federation and the 547-seat House of Peoples Representatives. The house of federation has members chosen by the state assemblies to serve five year terms. The house of people's representatives are elected by direct election, who in turn elect the president for a six-year term.
Ethiopia held general elections on May 15, 2005, for seats in both its national House of Peoples' Representatives and in four regional government councils. Under pressure from the international community, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi promised that this election would be proof that more democracy would come in this multi-ethnic nation; international elections observers from the European Union (EU) and the U.S.-based Carter Center were present to observe the results. This election succeeded in attracting about 90% of the registered voters to the polls. A government ban on protests was imposed throughout the election period.
The Coalition for Unity and Democracy, commonly referred to by its English abbreviation CUD, or occasionally CDU; its Amharic abbreviation, used in Ethiopia, is Qinijit, in English writing often referred to as Kinijit) is a coalition of four existing political parties of Ethiopia which combined to compete for seats in the Ethiopian General Elections held on May 15, 2005. Its leader was Dr. Hailu Shawul.
The United Ethiopian Democratic Forces is a coalition of several political parties in Ethiopia which combined to compete for seats in the Ethiopian General Elections held on May 15, 2005.
The Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM) is a political party in Ethiopia.
At the last legislative elections, 15 May 2005, the party was part of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, that won 327 out of 527 seats in the Council of People's Representatives.
The Benishangul Gumuz People’s Democratic Unity Front is a political party in Ethiopia. In the most recent elections held 23 May 2010, the BGPDUF won 9 seats. In local elections held the same day, the BGPDUF won 98 of the 99 seats in the Benishangul-Gumuz parliament.
The Gambela Peoples’ Democratic Movement is a political party in the Gambela Region of Ethiopia. It is the regional ally of the ruling EPRDF coalition.
The Sheko and Mezenger People's Democratic Unity Organization is a political party in Ethiopia. At the last legislative elections, 15 May 2005, the party elected Kassahun Jarka Ziyatu to represent a district in the Bench Maji Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR).
The Parliament of Ethiopia consists of two chambers:
Ethiopia is administratively divided into regional states and chartered cities, zones, woreda (districts) and kebele (wards).
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.
Ethiopia is currently split into nine different Regions. The Afar Region, the Harari Region, the Gambela Region, the Oromia Region, the Somali Region, the Tigray Region, the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, the Amhara Region, and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, each with their own flag.
Districts, or woreda, are the third-level administrative divisions of Ethiopia. They are further subdivided into a number of wards (kebele) or neighbourhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia.
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.
A parliamentary election was held in Ethiopia on May 23, 2010.
The Ethiopian Somali Democratic League (ESDL) was a political party in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. It was the ruling EPRDF's regional partner from 1994 to 1998.
