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 legislature is multicameral, with a house of representatives and a council. The term politics of Ethiopia mainly relates to the political activities in Ethiopia after the late 20th century when 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. A general election was held in June 1994 and Ethiopia has maintained a multiparty political environment till today.
Under the current constitution, Ethiopia conducts local, regional, and federal elections. At the federal level, Ethiopia elects a legislature. The Federal Parliamentary Assembly has two chambers: the House 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.
General elections were held in Ethiopia on 15 May 2005, for seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives and four regional government councils. Under pressure from the international community, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi promised that this election would be proof that more democracy would come in this multi-ethnic nation; international elections observers from the European Union (EU) and the U.S.-based Carter Center were present to observe the results. This election succeeded in attracting about 90% of the registered voters to the polls. A government ban on protests was imposed throughout the election period.
The Coalition for Unity and Democracy, commonly referred to by its English abbreviation CUD, or occasionally CDU, was a coalition of four existing political parties of Ethiopia which combined to compete for seats in the Ethiopian General Elections held on May 15, 2005, and around the end of that year, became a full-fledged political party. Its leader was Hailu Shawul and the political party was dissolved in 2007.
Hailu Shawul was an Ethiopian politician and civil engineer who was the leader of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) during the 2005 Ethiopian general election. He was also the leader of All Ethiopian Unity Party from 1996 to 2013. He died on 6 October 2016, while receiving treatment at a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.
Berhanu Nega is an Ethiopian politician who is serving as the current Minister of Education of Ethiopia. He previously was the mayor elect of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in the 2005 Ethiopian general elections. He is a founding chairman of the Rainbow Ethiopia: Movement for Democracy and Social Justice and a Deputy Chairman of Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), for whom he served as chief election campaign strategist. He is also the co-founder and leader of Ginbot 7, an anti-government rebel group. Until mid-2018, he was labelled a terrorist by the Ethiopian government.
The Gambela Peoples’ Democratic Movement, also known as the Gambela People’s Democratic Movement or Gambella Peoples’ Unity Democratic Movement, was a political party in the Gambela Region of Ethiopia. It is the regional ally of the ruling EPRDF coalition.
Beyene Petros is an Ethiopian politician and educator who was the professor of Biology at Addis Ababa University and a former member of the Ethiopian House of People's Representatives, representing an electoral district in Badawacho of Hadiya Zone. He is currently the chairman of one of the largest opposition political parties in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Forum Medrek.
Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe is an Ethiopian politician who served as prime minister of Ethiopia from 2012 to 2018. He also previously served as deputy prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Meles Zenawi from 2010 to 2012. After Meles' death in August 2012, Hailemariam succeeded him as prime minister, initially in an acting capacity. He was then elected as the chair of the EPRDF, the ruling party, on 15 September 2012. Hailemariam also served as the chairperson of the African Union from 2013 to 2014.
The 2005 Ethiopian general election violence, known generally as the Ethiopian police massacre, refers to the killing of civilians by government forces during June and November 2005 which led to the deaths of 193 protesters and injury of 763 others, mostly in the capital Addis Ababa, following the May 2005 elections in Ethiopia. More than 30,000 people were detained by security forces following the election, most released in 2006.
Lidetu Ayalew is an Ethiopian politician who is the founder and the leader of the Ethiopian Democratic Party. He was a deputy chairman and chief spokesperson of Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), during the 2005 Ethiopian general election.
Birtukan Mideksa is an Ethiopian politician and former judge who has served as chairwoman of the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) from 2018 to 2023. She was the founder and leader of the opposition Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party from 2008 to 2010.
The Ethiopian Democratic Party is a political party in Ethiopia. The result of no less than five mergers of liberal and conservative liberal opposition parties, it could trace its roots to the Ethiopian Democratic Union, which mounted armed monarchist resistance to the Derg in the immediate aftermath of the overthrow of Haile Selassie I. In the legislative elections held on 15 May 2005, the United Ethiopian Democratic Party – Medhin, as it was then known, was part of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces, that won 52 out of 527 seats in the Council of People's Representatives. It won no seats in the 2010 elections.
Mesfin Negash is an Ethiopian journalist, political commentator for Addis Neger and columnist for Sampsonia Way Magazine. He is a graduate of Addis Ababa University where he studied political science.
The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, also known as the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, is the supreme law of Ethiopia. The constitution came into force on 21 August 1995 after it was drawn up by the Constituent Assembly that was elected in June 1994. It was adopted by the Transitional Government of Ethiopia on 8 December 1994 and came into force following the general election held in May–June 1995.
Medrek, officially the Ethiopia Federal Democratic Unity Forum, is an Ethiopian political coalition founded in 2008 by former defense minister Siye Abraha and former president Negasso Gidada. The election symbol of the party is five fingers. On 2008 election, Medrek won a single seat in the House of Peoples' Representatives, representing an electoral district in Addis Ababa. This was allegedly due to lack of election transparency. Medrek won 30% of the individual vote nationwide but received only one seat in parliament since Ethiopia's elections are conducted under a single-member plurality voting system.
Andualem Aragie is an Ethiopian politician and activist who is the Deputy Leader of Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (ECSJ), an opposition party formed after the merger of 7 smaller opposition parties in May 2019. He was formerly the Vice President and Press Secretary for the Ethiopian-based Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJP). Andualem was sentenced to a life sentence on terrorism charges after being imprisoned on September 14, 2011 along with prominent journalist Eskinder Nega and opposition party members and reporters. His arrest has been ascribed by human rights organizations as a crackdown on dissent. Human Rights Watch also reported his detention as well as other members of the opposition and the potential for serious abuse during his imprisonment. He is now released from prison after the government pardoned him and other prisoners of conscience.
Andargachew Tsege, also known as Andy Tsige or Andy Tsege, is an Ethiopian politician. He is the chief executive officer of ESAT, a nonprofit independent media outlet in Ethiopia. He previously served as the secretary-general of Ginbot 7, a political party that was labeled as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian government until 2018. On 23 June 2014, he was abducted by Ethiopian security forces while in transit in Yemen's Sana'a International Airport and held at an unknown location in Ethiopia. On 29 May 2018, he was freed by the Ethiopian government following political reform by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
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.
Balderas Party, also called Balderas for Genuine Democracy Party or Balderas for True Democracy Party, is a political party in Ethiopia founded by political activist Eskinder Nega in 2019.
