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Do you approve that Eritrea should become an independent sovereign state? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Constitution (not enforced) |
| Elections |
 Eritreaportal |
An independence referendum was held in Eritrea, at the time part of Ethiopia, between 23 and 25 April 1993. The result was 99.83% in favour, with a 98.5% turnout. [1] Independence from Ethiopia was declared on 27 April.
The UN Observer Mission to Verify the Referendum in Eritrea (UNOVER) was established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 47/114 of 16 December 1992 and lasted until 25 April 1993. [2] The goals of the mission were to verify the impartiality of the referendum, report claims of irregularities, and verify the counting, computation and announcement of the results.
The referendum was completed under budget, [3] and was considered free and fair. [2]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes | 1,098,015 | 99.83 |
| No | 1,825 | 0.17 |
| Valid votes | 1,099,840 | 99.97 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 323 | 0.03 |
| Total votes | 1,100,163 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,174,654 | 98.24 |
| Source: United Nations Observer Mission to Verify the Referendum in Eritrea (UNOVER) | ||
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 1,100,260 | 99.83 |
| No | 1,822 | 0.17 |
| Valid votes | 1,102,082 | 99.97 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 328 | 0.03 |
| Total votes | 1,102,410 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,173,706 | 98.52 |
| Source: African Elections Database | ||
| Area | For | Against | Invalid | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| Asmara | 128,443 | 99.89 | 144 | 0.11 | 33 | 128,620 |
| Barka | 44,425 | 99.89 | 47 | 0.11 | 0 | 44,472 |
| Denkalia | 25,907 | 99.65 | 91 | 0.35 | 29 | 26,027 |
| Gash-Setit | 73,236 | 99.63 | 270 | 0.37 | 0 | 73,506 |
| Hamasien | 76,654 | 99.92 | 59 | 0.08 | 3 | 76,716 |
| Akkele Guzay | 92,465 | 99.84 | 147 | 0.16 | 22 | 92,634 |
| Sahel | 51,015 | 99.72 | 141 | 0.28 | 31 | 51,187 |
| Semhar | 33,596 | 99.66 | 113 | 0.34 | 41 | 33,750 |
| Seraye | 124,725 | 99.94 | 72 | 0.06 | 12 | 124,809 |
| Senhit | 78,513 | 99.97 | 26 | 0.03 | 1 | 78,540 |
| Freedom fighters | 77,512 | 99.97 | 21 | 0.03 | 46 | 77,579 |
| Sudan | 153,706 | 99.77 | 352 | 0.23 | 0 | 154,058 |
| Ethiopia | 57,466 | 99.65 | 204 | 0.35 | 36 | 57,706 |
| Other | 82,597 | 99.84 | 135 | 0.16 | 74 | 82,806 |
| Total | 1,100,260 | 99.83 | 1,822 | 0.17 | 328 | 1,062,410 |
| Source: Eritrea: Birth of a Nation | ||||||
Eritrea is an ancient name, associated in the past with its Greek form Erythraia, Ἐρυθραία, and its derived Latin form Erythræa. This name relates to that of the Red Sea, then called the Erythræan Sea, from the Greek for "red", ἐρυθρός, erythros. The Italians created the colony of Eritrea in the 19th century around Asmara, and named it with its current name. After World War II, Eritrea was annexed to Ethiopia. In 1991, the communist Ethiopian government was toppled by Eritrean people liberation front (EPLF) which earned their independence. Eritrea officially celebrated its 1st anniversary of independence on May 24, 1991.
The Politics of Eritrea and the Government of Eritrea takes place in a framework of a single-party presidential republican totalitarian dictatorship. The President officially serves as both head of state and head of government. The People's Front for Democracy and Justice is the only political party legally permitted to exist in Eritrea. The popularly elected National Assembly of 150 seats, formed in 1993 shortly after independence from Ethiopia, elected the current president, Isaias Afwerki. There have been no general elections since its official independence in 1993. A new constitution was drafted in 1993 and ratified in 1997, but has not been implemented. Since the National Assembly last met in January 2002, President Isaias Afwerki has exercised the powers of both the executive and legislative branches of government.
The foreign relations of Eritrea are the policies of the Eritrean government by which it administers its external relations with other nations. Since its independence, Eritrea's foreign relations have been dominated by conflict and confrontation, both in the regional and international arenas. It has maintained often troubled, and usually violent, relations with its neighbors, including brief armed conflicts with Yemen and Djibouti and a destructive war with its bigger-neighbour, Ethiopia. At present, Eritrea has very tense relations with neighboring Ethiopia and Djibouti. Relations in the international arena also have been strained since the last decade, particularly with major powers. What appeared cordial relations with the US in the 1990s turned acrimonious following the border war with Ethiopia, 1998-2000. Although the two nations have a close working relationship regarding the ongoing war on terror, there has been a growing tension in other areas. Ties with international organizations such as the United Nations, the African Union, and the European Union have also been complicated in part because of Eritrea's outrage at their reluctance to force Ethiopia to accept a boundary commission ruling issued in 2002.
1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1993rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 993rd year of the 2nd millennium, the 93rd year of the 20th century, and the 4th year of the 1990s decade.
Isaias Afwerki is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory in 24 May 1991, ending the 30-year-old war for independence from Ethiopia.
The People's Front for Democracy and Justice is the founding, ruling, and sole legal political party of the State of Eritrea. The successor to the left-wing nationalist Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), the PFDJ holds itself open to nationalists of any political affiliation. The leader of the PFDJ party and current President of Eritrea is Isaias Afwerki. It has been described as totalitarian.
The Eritrean–Ethiopian War, also known as the Badme War, was a major armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea that took place from May 1998 to June 2000. The war has its origins in a territorial dispute between the two states. After Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia, relations were initially friendly. However, disagreements about where the newly created international border should be caused relations to deteriorate significantly, eventually leading to full scale war. According to a 2005 ruling by an international commission, Eritrea broke international law and triggered the war by invading Ethiopia. By 2000, Ethiopia held all of the disputed territory and had advanced into Eritrea. The war officially came to an end with the signing of the Algiers Agreement in 12 December 2000; however, the ensuing border conflict would continue on for nearly two decades.
The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) was established by the United Nations Security Council in July 2000 to monitor a ceasefire in the border war that began in 1998 between Ethiopia and Eritrea. First military troops Netherlands - Canadian battalion 'NECBAT' arrived and established bases in the region in December 2000.
The Eritrean War of Independence was a war for independence which Eritrean independence fighters waged against successive Ethiopian governments from 1 September 1961 to 24 May 1991.
The Ethiopian–Eritrean Federation was a coalition between the former Italian colony of Eritrea and the Ethiopian Empire. It was established as a result of the renunciation of Italy’s rights and titles to territorial possessions in Africa, inclusive of all its established territories or colonies made effective by the Treaty of Peace with Italy of 1947. The fate of Eritrea was contingent on numerous political, social, and economic ideals of Eritreans that ranged from leftists favoring independence, conservatives favoring Ethiopian crown rule, and Eritreans who favored a political union of the two sides of the spectrum. In an attempt to provide Eritrea with ultimate autonomy under an Eritrean curated constitution and governmental elections, UN Resolution 390 (A) was devised to implement such welfare to the individuals it was to be imposed upon.
The United Nations Peacekeeping efforts began in 1948. Its first activity was in the Middle East to observe and maintain the ceasefire during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Since then, United Nations peacekeepers have taken part in a total of 72 missions around the globe, 12 of which continue today. The peacekeeping force as a whole received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.
Gash-Setit is a 709 km2 (274 sq mi) designated national wildlife reserve and historical area of western Eritrea where its considered to be the northern most point of Africa for elephant habitat. It is located in much of Omhajer District and Haykota District between south west of Haykota and the market town of Tesseney in the Gash-Barka region. The name is derived from the two rivers, the Gash and the Setit (Tekezé) River. It is the historical area of the Kunama people and a very fertile region extending to the Sudan border.
Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the south, Sudan in the west, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi), and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1312, adopted unanimously on 31 July 2000, after reaffirming resolutions 1298 (1999) on the situation between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and 1308 (2000), the council established the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) in anticipation of a peacekeeping operation subject to future authorisation.
Denmark–Eritrea relations refers to the current and historical relations between Denmark and Eritrea. Denmark is represented in Eritrea through its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, and Eritrea is represented in Denmark through its embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1827 was unanimously adopted on 30 July 2008.
The Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict was a violent standoff and a proxy conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia lasting from 1998 to 2018. It consisted of a series of incidents along the then-disputed border; including the Eritrean–Ethiopian War of 1998–2000 and the subsequent Second Afar insurgency. It included multiple clashes with numerous casualties, including the Battle of Tsorona in 2016. Ethiopia stated in 2018 that it would cede Badme to Eritrea. This led to the Eritrea–Ethiopia summit on 9 July 2018, where an agreement was signed which demarcated the border and agreed a resumption of diplomatic relations.
Events in the year 1993 in Eritrea.
On 24 May 1993, Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia following a United Nations sponsored referendum, which gained 99.8% Eritrean support for independence. Isaias Afwerki became president and head of Eritrea, after fighting with his Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) against the authoritarian Derg government during the Ethiopian Civil War from 1974 to 1991. Eritrea became a one-party state and promised to schedule presidential elections in 2001, but was then delayed them indefinitely without precondition. Isaias became a totalitarian leader and was accused by many watchdogs of repression and purges of journalists, dissent and opposition groups like People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) officials, mass surveillance, arbitrary detention, lack of independent judiciary body and freedom of association, press and speech. In 2015, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea reported that there were "systemic, widespread and gross human rights violations carried out in a context of total lack of rule of law". The Freedom in the World ranked Eritrea "not free" state as of 2022, with total 3/100 score in both political rights and civil liberties.
The following events detail foreign affairs dominated by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi from his presidency until his death in 2012.
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