The politics of Ethiopia are the activities associated with the governance of Ethiopia. The government is structured as a federal parliamentary republic with both a President and Prime Minister. The government is multicameralism with a house of representative and a council. The term politics of Ethiopia mainly relates to the political activities in Ethiopia after the late 20th century when the democratization took place in the nation. The current political structure of Ethiopia was formed after the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) overthrew dictator President Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991. General election was held in June 1994 and Ethiopia has maintained a multiparty political environment till today.
The Oromo are a Cushitic ethnic group mostly native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia who speak the Oromo language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and represent a large portion of Ethiopia's population.
Oromia is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital city of the State of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also known as Finfinne. Located in the Ethiopian Highlands, Oromia is the largest region in Ethiopia.
Ambo is a town in west-central Ethiopia. Located in the West Shewa Zone of Oromia Region, west of Addis Ababa, this town has a latitude and longitude of 8°59′N37°51′E and an elevation of 2,101 meters.
Dembidollo,, also spelled Dembi Dolo, is a market town and separate woreda in south-western Ethiopia. It is the capital of Kelam Welega Zone of the Oromia Region. This town has a latitude and longitude of 8°32′N34°48′E with an elevation between 1701 and 1827 meters above sea level.
Nekemte, also spelled as Neqemte, is a market town and separate woreda in western Ethiopia. Located in the East Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, Nekemte has a latitude and longitude of 9°5′N36°33′E and an elevation of 2,088 meters.
The Oromo Democratic Party was a political party in Ethiopia, and part of the alliance with the Amhara National Democratic Movement, the South Ethiopian Peoples' Democratic Front and the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front that forms the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). In the August 2005 Regional assembly elections, the party won 387 out of 537 seats in the Oromia, and 14 out of 36 seats in the Harari Region.
The Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement Oromo: Warraaqsa Federaalistii Uummata Oromoo, OFDM) was a political party in Ethiopia, created in 2005 by Bulcha Demeksa to further the interests of the Oromo people as an alternative to the armed Oromo Liberation Front. In the 15 May 2005 federal election, the party won 11 seats, all from the Oromia Region. In March 2006, the party Whip was Mesfin Nemera Deriesa from the West Wallaga Zone. The OFDM merged with the Oromo People's Congress (OPC), forming the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), in 2012.
The Oromo Liberation Front is nationalist organisation formed in 1973 to promote self-determination for the Oromo people inhabiting today's Oromia Region and Oromia Zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. The OLF has offices in Addis Ababa, Washington, D.C. and Berlin from where it operates Amharic and Oromo radio stations.
The Oromo People's Congress (OPC) was a federalist and Oromo nationalist opposition political party in Ethiopia. It was founded in April 1996 as the Oromo National Congress by Dr. Merera Gudina, who is its chairman. However, the party licence and name were allegedly given to a marginal splinter group by the National Election Board of Ethiopia in order to undermine the party and create confusion among the voters after the May 2005 election, so the party was forced to change its name to Oromo People's Congress prior to the 2008 by-elections. OPC merged with Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, forming the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), in 2012.
Merera Gudina is an Ethiopian professor and politician. He is the leader of the Oromo People's Congress (OPC), a political party representing the Oromo people. The organization is opposed to the previous ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front and the current authoritarian ruling Abiy Ahmed's fake Prosperity Party. He has been described as Ethiopian "leading opposition politician".
The Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE) was an era established immediately after the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) seized power from the Marxist-Leninist People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) in 1991. During the transitional period, Meles Zenawi served as the president of the TGE while Tamrat Layne was prime minister. Among other major shifts in the country's political institutions, it was under the authority of the TGE that the realignment of provincial boundaries on the basis of ethnolinguistic identity occurred. The TGE was in power until 1995, when it transitioned into the reconstituted Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia that remains today.
Lencho Letta is an Ethiopian politician and Oromo activist who was founding member of Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). He was the Deputy Secretary General of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) from 1974 to 1995. In Late 1990s, Lencho left OLF leadership due to ideological differences. He is currently the leader of Oromo Democratic front, which was formed in 2013.
The Oromo Liberation Army is an armed opposition group active in Ethiopia. The OLA consist primarily of former armed members of the pre-peace deal OLF who chose to continue the armed struggle against the government. The Ethiopian government now considers the OLF to be a legal political party but the OLA to be a terrorist group, though the OLA is accused of continuing to act as the armed wing of the OLF. The Ethiopian government refuses to call the OLA by its chosen name, instead referring to it as Shene, or OLF-Shene.
Baro Tumsa (1938–1978) was a pharmacist, lawyer and Oromo nationalist and political activist in Ethiopia. He was the younger brother of the famed Reverend Gudina Tumsa and mainly responsible for the formation of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).
The Oromo conflict is a protracted conflict between the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Ethiopian government. The Oromo Liberation Front formed to fight the Ethiopian Empire to liberate the Oromo people and establish an independent state of Oromia. The conflict began in 1973, when Oromo nationalists established the OLF and its armed wing, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). These groups formed in response to prejudice against the Oromo people during the Haile Selassie and Derg era, when their language banned from public administration, courts, church and schools, and the stereotype of Oromo people as a hindrance to expanding Ethiopian national identity.
The Sidama National Liberation Front, also known as Sidama Liberation Front or Sidama Liberation Movement is a rebel group in the Sidama Region of Ethiopia. The SNLF allied with the Oromo Liberation Front in 2012 and the Ogaden National Liberation Front in 2015 against the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
The 2021 Ethiopian general election to elect members of the House of Peoples' Representatives was held on 21 June 2021 and 30 September 2021. Regional elections were also held on those dates.
The Amhara genocide is an ongoing systematic massacre of ethnic Amhara and Agew people in Ethiopia since 1990. 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 Tigray TPLF or TDF, Oromo OLF–OLA, which are also known as Sene/Shane (ሸኔ), Oneg (ኦነግ), and the Gumuz armed groups. Ethnically motivated attacks against the Amhara have been reported, with mass graves continuously discovered in various locations. Many from the victim side stated that attempts to investigate and to uncovering data expose them to various forms of persecution. However, the results of two consecutive National Census Analyses and a report by the State revealed that over 2 million Amhara could not be traced. The figure reflects the decades-long massacres and enforced disappearances of the Amhara people. From the ongoing nature of the violence, the actual number is expected to be higher.
Federalism in Ethiopia can best be explained by considering the ethnic and geographic diversity of modern-day Ethiopia, interpreted through the history of the nation’s reunification. Ethiopia contains over 80 ethnic groups of varying sizes, languages, religions and customs. According to the 2007 census, the top seven groups constitute to 83% of the population. Ethiopia is mainly a rural country, with a wide variation of topography that impacts the agricultural and economic activity.
