Ethiopias ruling party wins by landslide in general election. It is election 2015, the 5th general election since ethiopias formal adoption of the more or less liberal constitution of 1995 that ended the hesitant transition from the dergs military rule to a westernstyle. An election management body is the body legally responsible for managing elections and other instruments of direct democracy. Ethiopia s 2015 elections confirm that the ruling ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdfhaving won 100 percent of parliamentary seatshas chosen to entrench an authoritarian system. Turnout for the third multiparty election in ethiopia s 3,000year history history was estimated at 90 percent. A healthy democracy requires widespread trust in elections. The ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front, the political coalition which had dominated ethiopian politics. The peoples democratic republic of elhiopia is a soverei, state whose territory comprisin, the land. The imperial period 1974 ethiopia is the only african state never colonised by a foreign power. Every time there is an election, it gets better and better. Ethiopia is a democracy that is moving forward in an election that we expect to be free, fair, credible and open and inclusive.
Regional and council elections were also planned to be held at the same time around the country. The previous elections, held in may 2005, was marred by significant postelection violence and allegations of fraud. Media and democracy in africa mutual political bedfellows or implacable archfoes jimmy ocitti, ph. Second, the results of the election set the stage for a. Voting in any election shall be carried out in secret. Introduction election fever is gaining momentum in ethiopia.
I then analyze the 2005 parliamentary election results to show the extent to which party competition varied in ethiopias first genuinely multiparty election. Ethiopia has moved forward in strengthening its democracy every time there is an election. However, ethiopias human rights record is appalling. We argue that this total election victory was meant as a signal to party cadres that defection is not tolerated. Expanding ethiopias democratic space aspirations, opportunities, choices contributions by. Ethiopias ruling party and its allies achieved a clean sweep in last months general election, winning all 546 parliamentary seats, the final results showed.
The role of traditional institutions in political change and. While election of new leadership of the ruling party has brought forth a surge of optimism in most quarters that democratic space will expand. A road map to resolving ethiopias political crisisgen. Print this is what an election campaign looks like in ethiopia, where the ruling.
Ethnicity, economic conditions, and opposition support. It traces its origin to the kingdoms that emerged in the northern highlands in the fourth century. Although this was the first multiparty election in ethiopia, several opposition parties boycotted the election. Subnational governments at the subnational level, concerns about ethiopias dominantparty state are therefore replicated. No ethiopian shall be compelled to elect or to be elected. Family of american files wrongful death lawsuit in. Front eprdf in its notable second reform app raisal held in. Whereas, it is necessary to provide for a transparent procedure for the settlement of election related. Family of american files wrongful death lawsuit in ethiopian. The following 3 files are in this category, out of 3 total. Recently, the former chief of staff, general tsadkan gebretensae, presented a paper on ethiopias current political affairs. Ethiopia has previously submitted periodic national reports on the implementation of the beijing declaration and platform for action in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 that highlighted the progress and achievements recorded as well as the gaps and limitations encountered. The 2005 election was a crucial moment in the history of the transition period in the country.
First, it produced a real electoral opposition that could challenge the ruling ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf. The weekend of one of africas largest democratic event page 6 ethiopia is a democracy that is moving forward in an election that we expect to be free, fair, credible open and inclusive in ways. The ethiopian electoral and political parties proclamation. In ways that sic ethiopia has moved forward in strengthening its democracy. The sidama referendum will also be the first electoral exercise that the newly constituted nebe will undertake. Alternative electoral systems and the 2005 ethiopian. The general idea of the meaning of election is reflected in the below definition.
Ethiopia is party to international instruments upholding gender equality and the rights of women and girls including the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women cedaw, the beijing declaration and platform for action bdpfa and the protocol to the african. Subsequent changes of regime following the overthrow of busia by general acheampong in 1972 brought the andanis to power. Jun 22, 2015 ethiopias ruling party and its allies achieved a clean sweep in last months general election, winning all 546 parliamentary seats, the final results showed. May 19, 2015 in an attempt to make sense of beyond winning and losing elections in ethiopia, in the last two pieces, tsegaye r.
Mobile representative shall mean a person delegated by a political party or a private candidate running for an election to observe the electoral process and follow the respect of the. Typesofelections the following are the elections conducted in ethiopia. The peoples democratic republic of ethiopia shall, while ae romplishing the national democratic revolution, lay the foundation for the. The preambles to both proclamations have been removed. Principles and best practices for postelection tabulation. Aid official, addis ababa, june 16, 2009 on may 23, 2010, ethiopian citizens will vote in the first parliamentary elections in ethiopia. Elections are the democratic method of choosing representatives of the people. Despite being africas oldest independent country, ethiopia has only held three nationallevel elections, two of which were boycotted by opposition parties. 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. Any ethiopian whose electoral rights are not legally restricted shall be eligible to elect or to be elected.
Ifes international foundation for election systems ingo international nongovernmental organisation iri international republican institute jlos justice law and order sector uganda mdb multilateral development bank mdc movement for democratic change zimbabwe ndi national democratic institute nec national executive committee tanzania. Ethiopia nebe to hold a referendum in november 2019, risks of violence remain high. While election of new leadership of the ruling party has brought forth a surge of optimism in. Media and freedom of information proclamation in july 2008. It permitted the deployment of local observers at polling stations for the first time. The family of an american woman who died in last months ethiopian airlines crash has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against boeing, ethiopian airlines and a delaware company alleged to have. General elections were held in ethiopia on 7 and 18 may 1995 for seats in its council of peoples representatives. National electoral board of ethiopia ethiopian legal brief. Election executive board members, 20162019 the composition of the 2019 executive board reflects the results of elections held by the economic and social council on 16 april 2018. A call for somali action horseed media on the 10th anniversary of its attempted invasion and occupation of somalia in 2006, ethiopia has moved to directly and openly dictate who should be elected the next president of somalia. The process of decentralisation in ethiopia since 1991. Board shall mean the national electoral board of ethiopia. The process of decentralisation in ethiopia since 1991 7 southern ethiopian peoples democratic front sepdf, to a more cohesive political force in which the major regions are now governed by eprdfallied parties. It was only after the election of busias progress party government 196972 that an abudu was put on the skin.
Ararssa of the university of melbourne law school embarked on the exploration of the growing pulse of societal disenchantment with the imperial system, especially in the 1960s. May 20, 2015 the countdown for the 5th ethiopian general elections has begun. A surprisingly large block of voters took advantage of the opportunity of political competition to signal their lack of support for the ruling party and many top leaders lost their seats. The countdown for the 5th ethiopian general elections has begun. Aug 04, 2016 a road map to resolving ethiopias political crisisgen. The research was made possible owing to the participation of the following individuals and regional. European union, united kingdom, sweden, italy, united states, ethiopia, turkey, several gulf states, the african union mission in somalia amisom and united nations mission in somalia unsom and united nations development programme undp. The comment focuses on the liberal preamble and its contradictory restrictive provisions. The elections come at a time when the ethiopian economy has made great strides, achieving an estimated 10 per cent growth, one of the highest in africa. Part ii of the comment analyzes the effects the press law will likely have on the media and citizens of ethiopia.
The primary goal of providing support to international election observers is to contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of an election observation effort, thereby contributing to the credibility of the process and the broader democratic development of the country. Any ethiopian shallbe eligible to elector to be elected, unless he is deprived of his rights by law or a courtdecision. On september 5, the national election board of ethiopia released its final results, in which the eprdf retained its control of the government with 327 seats and opposition parties won 174 seats. General elections were supposed to be held in ethiopia on 29 august 2020 to elect officials to the house of peoples representatives, but were delayed due to the covid19 pandemic. An election is a procedure by which members of communities and for organization choose representatives to hold an office dieter nohlen 1996. The paper presented in hornaffairs amharic, entitled the political conditions of our country and recommendations, triggered debates on social media and elsewhere on the world wide web. Consolidated version of the election laws of fdr ethiopia1. This phase is distinguished by innovations in digital election communication that facilitate networking, collaboration. The may 15 elections therefore represent a watershed that immutably changed the political landscape of ethiopia. Whereas, it is appropriate to enable every ethiopian citizen to exercise his democratic right to elect and be elected by promptly settling disputes that arise in the electoral process while the citizen is engaged in the exercise of these rights.
Principles and best practices for postelection tabulation audits. Mohamed salih andreas eshete and samuel assefa november 2018 this publication is the outcome of a conference jointly organized by the friedrichebertstiftung ethiopia fes and the united nations economic commission for africa uneca in september 2018. Election management bodies and their composition 2 1 overview of election management bodies majority of countries in western adopted this system, including germany, what is an election management body. It is election 2015, the 5th general election since ethiopias formal adoption of the more or less liberal constitution of 1995 that ended the hesitant transition from the dergs military rule to a westernstyle representative democracy1.
Jul 18, 2011 it suffered a massive stroke in ethiopia in may 2010 when dictator meles zenawi declared election victory by 99. In particular, people need to be sure that the official election outcomes match the will of the voters. His analyses illuminate the background institutional barriers and the politically competitive reasons for the failure of the elections. Ethiopia united nations development assistance framework. On may 24, 2015 ethiopia will hold its fifth national election to elect a new government. Democratisations third wave and the challenges of democratic. The ruling ethiopia peoples revolutionary democratic. Although several opposition parties boycotted the election, 17 parties including the allamhara peoples organization, the southern ethiopia peoples democratic coalition sepdc, and the oromo national congress did parti. Since 2005, zenawi has put that countrys tiny private independent press on the ventilator and. Ethiopias human development index score has steadily increased over the past decade, but its participation and human rights score has remained stagnant. The 2008 presidential election marked the beginning of the third phase in the evolution of election medianew media, new politics 2.
Ethiopias 2015 elections confirm that the ruling ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdfhaving won 100 percent of parliamentary seatshas chosen to entrench an. Apr 04, 2019 the family of an american woman who died in last months ethiopian airlines crash has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against boeing, ethiopian airlines and a delaware company alleged to have. The previous elections, held in may 2005, was marred by significant post election violence and allegations of fraud. Fellow 19981999 fellows program weatherhead center for international affairs harvard university 1737 cambridge street, cambridge, ma 028 july 1999. Ethnic federalism and its discontents crisis group africa report n153, 4 september 2009 page 2 ii. This report on political parties in africa is part of the programme of research and dialogue on political parties undertaken by the international institute for democracy and electoral assistance idea during the years 20042006. No ethiopian shall be compelled to elect or be elected. Additionally, the nebe, which is responsible for organizing elections and referendums, has not previously implemented a vote on regional statehood. In an attempt to make sense of beyond winning and losing elections in ethiopia, in the last two pieces, tsegaye r. The peoples democratic republic of ethiopia is a unitary,tate in which all nalionalilies ii. In 1994 ethiopia adopted a new constitution, marking the. Additionally, general elections in the somali region were held on august 21. Professor gamst, a member of the joint international observer group jiog, reports the problems he monitored during the 1992 electoral campaign and voting activities in the striferidden region of oromia in ethiopia.
Most notably, a consortium of thirtyfive csos, called the election observation coalition and led by a local ngo, the organization for social justice ethiopia osje, won a landmark high court case in early may 2005. This phase is distinguished by innovations in digital election communication that facilitate networking, collaboration, and community building as well as active engagement. Turnout for the third multiparty election in ethiopias 3,000year history history was estimated at 90 percent. The peoples democratic republic of ethiopia shall, while ae romplishing the national democratic revolution, lay the foundation for the ronsltuction of socialism. The role of traditional institutions in political change. This is based on translations produced by the national election board of ethiopia and, in respect of the 2005 law, as published in the federal negarit gazeta no. Amend the electoral law of ethiopia proclamation no.