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 politics of the Maldives takes place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the Head of Government. Executive power is exercised by the government. The President heads the executive branch and appoints the Cabinet; Like many presidential democracies, each member of the cabinet need to be approved by the Parliament. The President, along with the Vice President, is directly elected by the people to a five-year term by a secret ballot. He could be re-elected to second 5-year term, the limit allowed by the Constitution. The current President of the Maldives is Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who was sworn into office on November 17, 2013 when his predecessor, Mohamed Waheed's tenure ended, 1 year and 9 months ended after being sworn into office, following his predecessor Mohamed Nasheed's forced resignation in a coup led by the police. Nasheed reportedly resigned involuntarily to forestall an escalation of violence, and was placed in jail, before being forced into exile.
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.
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.
Ethiopia was divided into provinces, further subdivided into awrajjas or districts, until they were replaced by regions (kililoch) and chartered cities in 1992.
The Parliament of Ethiopia consists of two chambers:
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.
The Menelik Palace, sometimes also known as the Imperial Palace, is a palatial compound in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. For years known as the Gebi, it was the seat of the power of Ethiopia's emperors. Within its confines are several residences, halls, chapels, and working buildings. Today it contains the offices and residence of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia.
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.
