 | This article needs to be updated.(September 2023) |
Ethiopia is administratively divided into four levels: regions, zones, woredas (districts) and kebele (wards). [1] [2] The country comprises 12 regions and two city administrations under these regions, plenty of zones, woredas and neighbourhood administration: kebeles. In addition to the Twelve federal states within the country, there are two federal-level city administrations in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. [3]
The first administrative division in Ethiopia is a region, also called kilil, or alternatively regional state. The 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia established the regions based on ethno-linguistic territories. [1] [4] Previously, this level was called a province, and though many of the old province and new region names are the same, the entities are not identical and the words region and province are not interchangeable. As of 2023 [update] , there were twelve regions.
Additionally there are two independently chartered cities which are on the same level as a region.
Regions are subdivided into zones . The number of zones varies, but most regions have around six to twelve zones. The largest region Oromia has over 20 zones, and the two smallest regions have none. There are some cities which are set up as "special zones", such as Bahir Dar Special Zone in the Amhara Region. The earlier equivalent to a zone was called an awrajja, and many zones today are named the same as their earlier awrajja, but the terms zone and awrajja are not interchangeable.
Zones are divided into woredas (districts). In Ethiopia, the woredas comprise three main organs: a council, an executive and a judicial. The Woreda Council is the highest government organ of the district, which is made up of directly elected representatives from each kebele in the woredas. The representative of the people in each kebele is accountable to their electorate. The woreda chief administration is the district's executive organ that encompasses the district administrator, deputy administrator, and the head of the main sectoral executive offices found in the district, which are ultimately accountable to the district administrator and district council. The quasi-judicial tasks belong to the Security and Justice administration. In addition to woredas, city administrations are considered at the same level as the woredas. A city administration has a mayor whom members of the city council elected. As different regional constitutions govern woredas, the names of the bodies may differ. [3]
Woredas are divided into kebele , municipalities. This is the smallest administrative division. This is sometimes also called tabia or tabiya. They are at the neighbourhood level and are the primary contact for most citizens living in Ethiopia. Their administrative unit consists of an elected council, a cabinet (executive committee), a social court and the development and security staff. Kebeles are accountable to their woreda councils and are typically responsible for providing basic education, primary health care, agriculture, water, and rural roads. [3]
Prior to the 1995 Constitution, Ethiopia was divided into provinces, and those were further subdivided into awrajjas, then into woredas and then sub-woredas. Boundaries were sometimes redrawn and the number of provinces varied across time. [lower-alpha 1] Awrajja were subdivisions of provinces, and were the rough equivalent of the current term zones. After the 1995 Constitution, the terms "province" and "awrajja" were dropped in favor of the terms "region" and "zone". [1]
Addis Ababa is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. In the 2007 census, the city's population was estimated to be 2,739,551 inhabitants. Addis Ababa is a highly developed and important cultural, artistic, financial and administrative center of Ethiopia. It is widely known as one of Africa's major capitals.
The government of Ethiopia is the federal government of Ethiopia. It 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 lower chamber of the Federal Parliamentary Assembly. 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 regional councils to serve five-year terms. The House of Peoples' Representatives is elected by direct election, who in turn elect the president for a six-year term.
Oromia is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The provision of the article maintains special interest of Oromia by utilizing social services and natural resources of Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia is a federation subdivided into ethno-linguistically based regional states and chartered cities. This system of administrative regions replaced the provinces of Ethiopia in 1992.
The Somali Region, also known as Soomaali Galbeed and officially the Somali Regional State, is a regional state in eastern Ethiopia. Its territory is the largest after Oromia Region. The regional state borders the Ethiopian regions of Afar and Oromia and the chartered city Dire Dawa to the west, as well as Djibouti to the north, Somalia to the northeast, east and south; and Kenya to the southwest.
Historically, Ethiopia was divided into provinces, further subdivided into awrajjas or districts, until they were replaced by ethnolinguistic-based regions (kililoch) and chartered cities in 1995.
Konso is a zone in the South Ethiopia Regional State, Ethiopia. It was formerly a woreda. Prior to 2011, Konso was not part of any Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) and was therefore considered a special woreda, an administrative subdivision which is similar to an autonomous area. In 2011, the Segen Area Peoples Zone was established, which includes Konso special woreda and the 3 former woredas surrounding it. This special woreda is named after the Konso people. Located in the Great Rift Valley, Konso is bordered on the south by the Oromia Region, on the west by the South Omo Zone, on the northwest by Alle special woreda, on the north by Dirashe special woreda, on the northeast by Amaro special woreda, and on the east by Burji special woreda. The Sagan River, which flows south then west to join the Weito, defines part of the woreda's boundary with Burji and the entire length of the boundary with the Oromia Region. The administrative center is Karati; other towns in Konso include Fasha and Sagen. After protesting by residents to become a zone for several years, Konso became a zone in November 2018.
Berek is a woreda or district in Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It was part of the former Berek Aleltu woreda which was separated for Aleltu and Berek woredas and Sendafa Town. Part of the Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne, Berek is bordered on the south by the Akaki and East Shewa Zone, on the southwest by the city of Addis Ababa, on the west by Sululta, on the north by North Shewa Zone, and on the east by the Amhara Region.
Mieso is a woreda in Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Part of the West Hararghe Zone, Mieso is bordered on the south by Guba Koricha, on the west by the Afar Region, on the north by the Somali Region, on the east by Doba and on the southeast by Chiro. The administrative center for this woreda is Mieso; other towns in Mieso include Asebot, Kora, Bordode and Gololcha.
Moyale is one of the Districtss in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the administrative center of the woreda, Moyale. Located in the southeast corner of the Borena Zone, Moyale is bordered on the south by Kenya, on the west by Dire, on the northwest by Arero, on the north by the Dawa River which separates it from Liben, and on the east by Dawa Zone Somali Region.
Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas, are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after zones and the regional states.
Chaffa Gola Dewerahmedo was a woreda in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Oromia Zone, Chaffa Gola Dewerahmedo was bordered on the south by Artuma Fursi Jilee, on the southwest by the Semien Shewa Zone, on the west by the Debub Wollo Zone, on the north by Baati, and on the east by the Afar Region. Towns in Chaffa Gola Dewerahmedo included Bora and Kamisee; the villages of Shonke and T’ollaha were also located in this woreda, and notable as being communities where the Argobba language is spoken. Chaffa Gola Dewerahmedo was divided for Dawa Chaffa and Dawa Harewa woredas and Kamisee town.
The government of Amhara Region is composed of the executive branch, led by the President; the legislative branch, which comprises the Regional Council; and the judicial branch, which is led by the Regional Supreme Court. The Amhara Region alongside almost all other regions are based on a singular ethnicity excluding Chartered Cities, Addis Ababa, and Dire Dawa and the Region Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region.
Since the 1990s, the Amhara people of Ethiopia have been subject to ethnic violence, including massacres by Tigrayan, Oromo and Gumuz ethnic groups among others, which some have characterized as a genocide. Large-scale killings and grave human rights violations followed the implementation of the ethnic-federalist system in the country. In most of the cases, the mass murders were silent with perpetrators from various ethno-militant groups—from TPLF/TDF, OLF–OLA, and Gumuz armed groups.
Since the new constitution of Ethiopia enacted in 1995, Ethiopia's legal system consisted of federal law with bicameral legislature. The House of People's Representatives (HoPR) is the lower chamber of bicameral legislature of Federal Parliamentary Assembly with 547 seats and the House of Federation with 108 seats, the former vested on executive power of Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, and the latter have authority to interpret federal law and oversees regional and federal decisions.
The Amhara Association of America (AAA) (Amharic: የዐማራ ማህበር በአሜሪካ) is a non-profit ethno-nationalist organization based in Charlotte, North Carolina, focused on advocating for the human rights of the Amhara people in Ethiopia.
The relations between Oromia and Addis Ababa has been great controversy as the subject sparked historical revisionism in the linkage of history of Addis Ababa. The area in the present day Addis Ababa called Finfinne where various Oromo pastoralists inhabited the region, and the emergence of Abyssinian expansionism under Emperor Menelik II which renamed the area as Addis Ababa in 1886. Throughout the 20th century, Addis Ababa was governed as the capital city of the Ethiopia under urban influence.
Courts in Ethiopia divided into three-level structures: the State Supreme Court, High Courts and the First Instance Courts. State Courts are represented in every regions of Ethiopia and have seat in each capital cities. The FDRE Constitution provides judicial review to the Federal Supreme Court, delegated by State Supreme Court, Federal High Courts and Federal First Instance Courts respectively.
Events in the year 2023 in Ethiopia.
Sheger City is a proposed model of urban development established on 22 October 2022 that centers around the city Addis Ababa to provide influence and economic benefit for other satellite cities. The administration contains 12 sub-cities, 36 districts and 40 rural kebeles with its seat located in Saris area in Addis Ababa.
