Ethiopian general election, 2015

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Ethiopian general election, 2015
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All 547 seats to the House of Peoples' Representatives

 Majority partyMinority party
  Hailemariam Desalegn - Closing Plenary- Africa's Next Chapter - World Economic Forum on Africa 2011.jpg No image.svg
LeaderPrime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn
Party EPRDF SPDP
Last election49924
Seats won50024
Seat changeIncrease2.svg1Steady2.svg
Prime Minister before election

Hailemariam Desalegn
EPRDF

Prime Minister

Hailemariam Desalegn
EPRDF

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. [1]

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.

House of Peoples Representatives

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.

Contents

The result was a victory for the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which won 500 of the 547 seats. Allies of the EPRDF won the remaining seats. [2] Only 5.1% of the valid votes (less than 1.7 million) went to opposition parties.

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).

Electoral system

The 547 members of the House of Peoples' Representatives (the lower chamber of parliament) were elected in single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post system. [3] The results of the election were announced one month after the election took place. [4] About 93.2 percent of Ethiopia’s 36.8 million registered voters participated in the parliamentary elections, [5] and nearly 1.4 million (3.3%) of the total votes cast for the election were deemed "invalid." This number exceeded even the number of votes which went to any individual opposition party, highlighting the dire circumstances for opposition in the election. Invalid ballots could be discarded as such for a variety of reasons according to Ethiopia's electoral laws. As outlined by Ethiopian paper The Reporter after the election: "a ballot paper is deemed invalid where the identity of the elector is disclosed, the ballot paper is not marked or difficult to determine the intention of the voter, [voted] for more candidates than the allowed. But as was witnessed during vote counting in some polling stations, discarding ballots as invalid was not always a clear cut conclusion." [6]

First-past-the-post voting voting system in which voters select one candidate, and the candidate who receives more votes than any other candidate wins

A first-past-the-post electoral system is one in which voters indicate on a ballot the candidate of their choice, and the candidate who receives the most votes wins. This is sometimes described as winner takes all. First-past-the-post voting is a plurality voting method. FPTP is a common, but not universal, feature of electoral systems with single-member electoral divisions, and is practiced in close to one third of countries. Notable examples include Canada, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as most of their current or former colonies and protectorates.

The elections were delayed in the Gimbo Gawata constituency due to clashes between the EPRDF and an independent candidate, Ashebr Woldegiorgis, who filed formal complaints against the EPRDF after coming in second at 17.7% of the region's votes. [6] Polling took place on 14 June. [7]

The NEBE

The elections were managed by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, also known as the NEBE, which maintains about 43,500 polling stations throughout its 547 constituencies. According to its official English website, "The Board is accountable to the House of Peoples' Representatives and is an independent and autonomous organ for conducting elections having its own legal personality." [8] It consists of nine members nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by the HPR, effectively allowing the ruling party to heavily control elections from a regulatory side, especially considering the 100% win of 2015 and the similar, though not 100% margins of earlier elections.

Still, it should be noted the Board claims on its website:

"The composition of the Board Members has taken into consideration the national diversity, gender representation and includes legal professionals. Board Members must:

And its objectives are listed as:

  1. Ensure the establishment of a Government elected through free, fair, and impartial elections held in accordance with the Constitution.
  2. Ensure the existence of an electoral system that enables political parties and private candidates, which respect the constitution and institutions established by it, compete equally and impartially.
  3. Enable citizens to exercise their constitutional democratic right to elect and be elected."

[8]

Campaign

A total of 1,828 candidates contested the 547 seats, of which nine were independents and the remainder represented 44 parties. Of the 1,828 candidates, 1,527 were men and 801 women. [9]

To help voters make informed decisions for the May Federal and National Elections, the Joint Council of Political Parties selected nine subjects as the agendas for televised debates between the political parties in the planned televised debating sessions. The subjects identified for debate in the televised election programs cover a variety of subjects: the Multi-Party System and Building Democracy; Federalism; Agricultural and Rural Policy; Urban Development and Industrial Policy; Good Governance and the Rule of Law; National Security; Foreign Policy; Infrastructure; Education and Health. [10] Despite these structures being in place, there were obstacles particularly from the ruling government that did not allow for an easy campaign period. For example, "on April 1, 2015, Yilkal Getnet (Eng.), president of the Blue Party (known in Amharic as Semayawi Party) had planned to travel to the United States for campaigning with the Ethiopian Diaspora there, according to Yonatan Tesfaye, public relations head of the party. However, his plan was aborted, because his passport was snatched by the authorities." [11]

The censorship in Ethiopia makes it difficult for members of opposition parties to effectively campaign to the general Ethiopian populous, thus limiting knowledge of political candidates. [12] Leaders of opposition parties have been arrested, including during the month after this election.

Number of candidates within each party

Political Parties Running for ElectionRegional Assmebly Candidates (Men)Regional Assembly Candidates (Women)House of Peoples' Representatives Candidates (Men)House of Peoples' Representatives Candidates (Women)
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front714636314187
Ethiopia Federal Democratic Unity Forum607322619
Blue Party19591354
Ethiopian Democratic Party154181596
Ethiopian Somali People's Democratic Party196771014
Coalition for Unity and Democratic Party103169315
All Ethiopian Democratic organization9811762
Unity For Democracy and Justice Party8213893
Gambela People's Unity Democratic Movement1154130
All Oromo People Democratic Party655409
New Generation Party499536
Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Party801954
Ethiopian Raie Party584402
Afar National Democratic Party771662
Gumz People's Democratic Movement78780
Ethiopian Democratic Unity Movement335336
Ethiopia Democratic Union394222
Ethiopian Justice and Democratic Forces Front315233
Sidama Hadicho People Democratic Organization376141
Oromo National Congress310203
Geda System Advancement Party285180
All Ethiopian National Movement1661216
Agew Democratic Party262151
Ethiopian Peace and Democratic Party137106
Gedeo People Democratic Organization21070
Harari National League10810
Oromo Liberation Unity Front9050
Bench People Democratic Organization9030
Wolayta People Democratic Front5340
Independent Candidate3090
Welene People Democratic Party3070
Dilwabi Peoples' Democratic Movement6120
Donga People Democratic Organization6020
Denta Dubamo Kichinchila People's Democratic Organization3220
Kembata People's Congress4120
All Amhara People's Organization3040
Ethiopian's Unity Democratic Organizaion0060
Somali Democratic Alliance Forces50--
Dube and Degeni Nationality Democratic Party2120
Argoba People Democratic Organization3010
Argoba Nationality Democratic Movement3010
Tigri Worgi Nationality Democratic Organization--30
Oromo Liberation Unity Front--30
Western Somali Democratic Party20--
All Ethiopian Democratic Party--20
Sodo Gordona Peoples' Democratic Organization--10
Ethiopian National Unity Party--10
Source: National Electoral Board

Results

House of Peoples' Representatives

The election found women gaining a more favorable percentage of seats, with men holding about 61% of the seats, and women holding about 39%. [6]

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front 500+1
Somali People's Democratic Party 240
Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Party 90
Afar National Democratic Party 80
Gambela People's Democratic Movement 30
Argoba People Democratic Organization 10
Hareri National League 10
Agew Democratic Party0
All Ethiopian Democratic Organization0
All Ethiopian Democratic Party0
All Ethiopian National Movement 0
All Oromo People Democratic Party0
All-Amhara People's Organization 0
Argoba Nationality Democratic Movement0
Bench People Democratic Organization0
Blue Party0
Coalition for Unity and Democracy 0
Denta Dubamo Kichinchila People's Democratic Organization0
Dilwabi Peoples' Democratic Movement0
Donga People Democratic Organization0
Dube and Degeni Nationality Democratic Party0
Ethiopia Democratic Union0
Ethiopia Federal Democratic Unity Forum 0–1
Ethiopian Democratic Party 0
Ethiopian Democratic Unity Movement0
Ethiopian Justice and Democratic Forces Front0
Ethiopian National Unity Party0
Ethiopian Peace and Democratic Party0
Ethiopian Raie Party0
Ethiopian's Unity Democratic Organization0
Geda System Advancement Party0
Gedeo People Democratic Organization0
Gumz People's Democratic Movement0
Kembata People's Congress0
New Generation Party0
Oromo Liberation Unity Front0
Oromo People's Congress 0
Sidama Hadicho People Democratic Organization0
Sodo Gordona Peoples' Democratic Organization0
Tigri Worgi Nationality Democratic Organization0
Unity for Democracy and Justice 0
Welene People Democratic Party0
Wolayta People Democratic Front0
Independents0–1
Undeclared––1–
Total5470
Source: National Electoral Board

Regional assemblies

RegionPartyVotes%Seats
Afar Afar National Democratic Party 817,10793
Argoba Nationality Democratic Organization 8,2533
Amhara Amhara National Democratic Movement 7,314,564294
Benishangul-Gumuz Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Party 222,79099
Gambela Gambela People's Democratic Movement 195,335155
Harari Hareri National League 84,09718
Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization 19,79118
Oromia Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization 10,877,190537
SNNP Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement 5,836,849345
Vacant––3
Somali Somali People's Democratic Party 2,621,088273
Tigray Tigrayan People's Liberation Front 2,374,574152
Source: National Electoral Board

Political participation

This was the first general election in Ethiopia since 2012, and it did allow for political participation on behalf of the citizens of Ethiopia, but it was more about the act of participation rather than an actually competitive election. [13] The EPRDF had been working on improving its image through training for civil servants, university lecturers, and students, and expanded its membership to 7 million through the “one to five” network. As described previously, there were opposition parties running, but their campaign abilities were incredibly limited by government censorship. Protests and demonstrations are another form of political participation utilized by unhappy citizens, but they are often stopped by security forces.

Conflicting reports

Regarding the fairness of the election, there has been much debate and conflict, especially within the bounds of Ethiopia's political climate.

Merga Bekana, the electoral board chairman at the time, declared that "The election was coordinated in a free, fair, peaceful, credible and democratic manner". [14] The opposition, however, contested the results and called the election an "undemocratic disgrace." [15] The opposition has had longstanding suspicion of Ethiopia's transformation into a one party state, and the 2015 election was enough for them to feel that there is proof behind this claim.

The views of the opposition, to some degree, line up with those of the State Department of the United States. They said that they "[remain] deeply concerned by continued restrictions on civil society, media, opposition parties, and independent voices and views." [16] Former President Barack Obama contradicted the views of the State Department in a public appearance that was made in Ethiopia in front of the prime minister. He stated that he felt the government was democratically elected. [17] He has since faced much criticism for this, especially among opposition groups and journalists within Ethiopia.

Monitoring of polls and international involvement

Although observers were present from the African Union to monitor the election, there were no international observers from Western countries. The European Union declined to participate in the proceedings on the grounds that Ethiopia had ignored the recommendations it provided after the previous round of elections that were also won by a questionable landslide. In reference to this action by the EU, in an interview with Voice of America, Ethiopian government spokesman Redwan Hussein stated: "Whatever prescription they made, it had nothing to do with the election. It has to do with the entire democratic system, and legal system and policy issues. So we didn’t subscribe to that subscription because it has nothing to do with elections." [18]

At the invitation of the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the African Union Commission Chairperson, HE Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma deployed an African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) to the 24 May 2015 Parliamentary elections in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. [19] The Long-Term Observers (LTOs) deployed pre-election observed that the political climate was calm and stable during this period. However, there were some concerns about the Media law, the Anti-terrorism law, and the Civil Society Law which arguably limited the ability of citizens to participate in political activities The African Union observers also noted that the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) was adequality resourced to manage the elections. Although NEBE together with the Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority allocated 600 hours of free electronic media airtime and 700 columns in the state-owned print media for all political parties contesting, the African Union observers report that some political parties alleged that the media were unable to air their campaign messages in the original forms.

On election day, the 29 African Union observer teams visited 365 polling stations 64.5% of which were located in rural areas and 35.5% in urban areas. [20] The teams noted that the Election Day proceeded in a peaceful and calm atmosphere without major incidences. However, the observers noted that was an imbalance in terms of party representation with dominant parties better represented. The AUEOM also noted discrepancies in the counting procedures, particularly the ballot reconciliation processes in some of the polling stations visited. 'For instance, at a polling station located at Site 10 in Jijiga Woreda in Somali region, it was noted that the number of votes cast exceeded the number of registered voters at the stations. Party agents were present but did not raise any objections about the discrepancies.' [20] The AUEOM concludes that the Parliamentary Elections were calm, peaceful, and credible as it provided an opportunity for the Ethiopian people to express their choices at the polls

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References

  1. ↑ "African election calendar 2015". Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa. 2015. Archived from the original on 4 January 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Ethiopia's ruling party wins by landslide in general election The Guardian, 22 June 2015
  3. ↑ Electoral system IPU
  4. ↑ https://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/27/us-ethiopia-election-idUSKBN0OC1KS20150527
  5. ↑ Winsor, Morgan (23 June 2015). "Ethiopia Elections 2015: Ruling Party Declares Historic 100 Percent Victory In Parliamentary Polls". International Business Times. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 "Takeaways from Election 2015 result". archiveenglish.thereporterethiopia.com. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  7. ↑ Polls to open in Bonga tomorrow Archived 2 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine . FBC, 13 June 2015
  8. 1 2 Administrator. "About NEBE". www.electionethiopia.org. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  9. ↑ 2015 General Election Poletical parties Candidatures National Electoral Board of Ethiopia
  10. ↑ "allAfrica". Archived from the original on 2015-02-27.
  11. ↑ "allAfrica". Archived from the original on 2015-04-07.
  12. ↑ "World Report 2015: Ethiopia." Human Rights Watch. Accessed 4 April 2017.
  13. ↑ Mosley, Jason. "Ethiopia's elections are just an exercise in controlled political participation." The Guardian, 22 May 2015. Accessed 4 April 2017.
  14. ↑ Maasho, By Aaron. "Ethiopia declares election sweep for ruling party, critics cry foul | Top News | Reuters". af.reuters.com. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  15. ↑ https://news.yahoo.com/ethiopia-opposition-says-elections-undemocratic-disgrace-220257213.html
  16. ↑ Maasho, Aaron (May 27, 2015). "Ethiopia's ruling party sweeps parliament in early vote results". Reuters.
  17. ↑ Baker, Peter; Fortin, Jacey (2015-07-27). "Obama, in Ethiopia, Calls Its Government 'Democratically Elected'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  18. ↑ "Ethiopia Elections 2015 Guide: No Western Observers To Monitor Vote Already Marred By Repression". International Business Times. 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  19. ↑ https://www.eisa.org.za/pdf/eth2015au.pdf
  20. 1 2 African Union. "African Union Ethiopia 2015 post election report" (PDF).
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