Ethiopian Parliament

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The Ethiopian Parliament ( Amharic ሸንጎ Shengo , also Parliamentary Federal Assembly , የፌደራል ፓርላማ , Yefēderal Parlama ) is the legislative power in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia .

Ethiopia has had its own parliament since 1931. The parliament building is located in Addis Ababa , was rebuilt in 1995 and has Amharic as the working language. The individual independent regions of Ethiopia each have their own regional parliaments.

The parliament is a two-chamber parliament and consists - similar to the two-chamber system of the Federal Republic of Germany - of the following chambers:

It was rebuilt with the adoption of the Ethiopian Constitution in 1995 and replaced what had been the provisional parliament of the Ethiopian transitional government . The first general parliamentary elections were held in the same year . Since then, many opposition parties and all peoples of the country have been represented in the Ethiopian parliament.

elections

The first parliamentary elections were held in 1957 , when Ethiopia was the Abyssinian Empire . The last elections during the imperial period took place in 1973 . Political parties were not allowed. During the period of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia , parliamentary elections were held only once, in 1987 .

Parliamentary elections during the Federal Republican period have so far taken place in 1995, 2000 and 2005 and 2010 .

Representative

Most of the political representatives of the peoples come from the Oromia region and thus hold the most positions, while the second most positions are held by representatives of the Amhara region ; this should reflect the equal connection of the various population groups and their proportional representation in parliament.

Numerous different ruling and opposition parties including the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces , the United Ethiopian Democratic Party / Medhin , the Somali People's Democratic Party ( SPDP ), the Ethiopian Democratic League ( EDL ), the Gambella's Democratic Movement ( GPDM ), the All-Ethiopian Unity Organization ( AEUO ), the Federal Democratic Oromo Movement ( WAFIDO ) and the Democratic United Front of the Peoples of Benishangul-Gumuz ( BGPDUF ) hold seats and positions in parliament.

history

In the empire of Abyssinia

Emperor Haile Selassie , who undertook to modernize the country, established the first parliament in the history of the country through the new constitution in 1931 . The parliament was bicameral, it consisted of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate . Until the occupation of the country by the Kingdom of Italy in 1936, the Chamber of Deputies consisted of members selected by the Emperor. These came from the aristocracy . In addition to members of the nobility, the Senate also consisted of ministers and respected veterans, as well as commanders who were recognized for their long service. Both chambers had the same number of members. The legislative period in the Chamber of Deputies lasted 15 to 20 years.

After the Italian occupation

After the liberation of the country by Ethiopian partisans in World War II , the parliament was rebuilt in 1941. However, there was no change in the structure of the previous order.

The elders met mostly at the district level and elected recognized aristocrats as members of the Senate . The first general election of the Chamber of Deputies was called after the constitution was revised in 1955. There were five elections between 1955 and 1974. Both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate were now officially legislative bodies. At the end of the first mandate, the number of members in the Chamber of Deputies reached 250 and that of the Senate 125. Members of the Chamber of Deputies mostly came from the upper echelons of the civil service and from the class of feudal landowners and wealthy merchants.

Derg and People's Republic

In October 1974, immediately after the bloody overthrow of the monarchy by the Provisional Military Administrative Council ( Derg ), an assembly of councils consisting of 60 members selected from various government institutions and the provinces was set up. The mandate of this assembly only lasted until 1975. The rule of the Derg was oriented towards socialism .

The population was organized in various associations that their representatives chose. There were direct and indirect elections. Leadership positions were filled exclusively with supporters of socialism.

In 1986 a unicameral parliament was set up, the National Council (Shengo) with 835 members. When the rule of Derg was officially declared over in 1987 and the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was established in its place , the National Council was the parliament of Ethiopia. The Shengo had a five-year term.

Transition period

The Revolutionary Democratic Front of the Ethiopian Peoples overthrew the government of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 1991 and formed a transitional government in the same year .

This consisted of political organizations and national liberation movements, which introduced a transitional charter in June 1991. Elections to the regional (state) chambers and woreda councils were held in 1992. A National Electoral Commission was established which was accountable to the House of Representatives . Their mandate ended after the election to councils at regional and zone level . The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia took its place.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Brockhaus Encyclopedia in 5 volumes (2004), 1 (A-EIS), p. 259
  2. a b c d e electionsethiopia.org: History of the electoral system in Ethiopia , website of the National Electoral Authority of Ethiopia
  3. a b Opposition parties and the Revolutionary Democratic Front of the Ethiopian Peoples in the Ethiopian Parliament ( Memento from September 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) ( English ).