Parliamentary elections in Ethiopia 1973

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The parliamentary election in Ethiopia in 1973 was the fifth direct election of the People's House of Representatives , the lower house of the Ethiopian Parliament . It was the last election in Ethiopia under the monarchy .

Electoral system

The 250 members of the People's House of Representatives , which exists according to the constitution of the Ethiopian Empire of 1955 , were elected. All residents over the age of 21 were entitled to vote; People deprived of their civil rights and prisoners had no right to vote. The country was elected according to majority voting, and the country was divided into constituencies of 200,000 voters, each of whom sent two members to parliament. Cities with at least 30,000 inhabitants formed their own constituency, but they only sent one representative, and the city was entitled to an additional representative for every 50,000 inhabitants.
Candidates had to be at least 21 years old, have had Ethiopian citizenship since birth, be considered a “righteous citizen” and have at least 50 supporters eligible to vote. In addition, they had to show land to the value of 1000 Birr in the constituency or other property or an income to the value of 2000 Birr, other data speak of 850 or 1700 Birr. 250 birr had to be presented as bail in order to be accepted as a candidate. The number of potential candidates was considerably reduced by this restriction of the right to stand as a candidate: 1,000 birr (at the rate at that time about 400 US dollars , in today's purchasing power around 2,300 US dollars) corresponded to the monthly salary of a minister of the central government, the average income was 150 birr per year.

Election process and election results

The elections took place on the regular date, spread over several weeks, from June 23 to July 7. Apparently the parliament had been dissolved shortly before after the MPs had refused to approve a law that provided for land reform.
With a total population of around 27.8–28.2 million, around 7.3 million voters were registered. Around 1500 candidates stood for the 250 seats, around 4.2 million votes were counted. The high turnout of the young population was noticeable: 66% of the 21–35 year olds voted. Around 60% of the MPs were re-elected. Political parties were not allowed, so all candidates had to run as independents .
Overall, the opponents of the land reform plans were considered the winners of the election, these plans were not implemented.

After the election

At the time of the monarchy, the Ethiopian parliament was not yet a real representative of the people. The requirements for minimum ownership and the cost of the election campaign, which could amount to several thousand birr and had to be borne by each candidate alone, meant that the majority of the MPs came from the upper class. Mainly government employees and nobles were represented in parliament, around 15-20% of the members of parliament during the monarchy were Muslim. With a monthly salary of the equivalent of 300 US dollars (around 1,722 US dollars in today's purchasing power), they were all very well paid. Political power initially remained in the hands of Emperor Haile Selassie . Over the years, however, parliament developed into a political power factor, even if it represented the interests of the various political groups more than those of the people.
Parliament had only been in office for a year when it was dissolved after the fall of the monarchy in September 1974; the next election was not held until 1987.

Web links

literature

Footnotes

  1. ^ A b Robert L. Hess: Ethiopia the Modernization of Autocracy , Cornell University Press, 1970, ISBN 978-0-80-140573-0 , p. 150
  2. ^ A b Dieter Nohlen, Bernhard Thibaut, Michael Krennerich (eds.): Elections in Africa: A Data Handbook. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 978-0-19-829645-4 , p. 375
  3. ↑ a b c Interparliamentary Union : Report on the parliamentary elections in Ethiopia 1973 (pdf; 9 kB)
  4. ↑ a b c Michael Cowen, Liisa Laakso (Ed.): Multi-party elections in Africa. , Palgrave MacMillan, 2003, ISBN 978-0-31-229486-1 , p. 62
  5. ↑ Thomas P. Ofcansky, Chris Prouty (Ed.): Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. , Scarecrow, 2004, ISBN 978-0-81-084910-5 , p. 132
  6. ↑ a b c Dieter Nohlen, Bernhard Thibaut, Michael Krennerich (Eds.): Elections in Africa: A Data Handbook. , Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 978-0-19-829645-4 , p. 377
  7. ^ John M. Cohen: Integrated Rural Development: The Ethiopian Experience and the Debate , The Nordic Africa Institute, 1987, ISBN 978-9-17-106267-3 , pp. 121f
  8. ↑ a b Thomas P. Ofcansky, Chris Prouty (Ed.): Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. , Scarecrow, 2004, ISBN 978-0-81-084910-5 , p. 133
  9. ^ Edmond J. Keller: Revolutionary Ethiopia: From Empire to People's Republic. , Indiana University Press, 1989, ISBN 978-0-25-320646-6 , pp. 88
  10. ^ John M. Cohen: Integrated Rural Development: The Ethiopian Experience and the Debate , The Nordic Africa Institute, 1987, ISBN 978-9-17-106267-3 , p. 122
  11. ^ Edmond J. Keller: Revolutionary Ethiopia: From Empire to People's Republic. , Indiana University Press, 1989, ISBN 978-0-25-320646-6 , pp. 87f
  12. ↑ Dieter Nohlen, Bernhard Thibaut, Michael Krennerich (Eds.): Elections in Africa: A Data Handbook. , Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 978-0-19-829645-4 , p. 373
  13. ^ Aaron Tesfaye: Political Power and Ethnic Federalism: The Struggle for Democracy in Ethiopia. , University Press of America, 2002, ISBN 978-0-76-182239-4 , p. 60.
  14. ↑ Dieter Nohlen, Bernhard Thibaut, Michael Krennerich (Eds.): Elections in Africa: A Data Handbook. , Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 978-0-19-829645-4 , p. 374
Elections in Ethiopia
Parliamentary elections

1957 • 1961 • 1965 • 1969 • 1973 • 1987 • 1994 • 1995 • 2000 • 2005 • 2010 • 2015

Presidential election

2001 • 2007

Referendums

1987

Local elections

2008