Political system of Ethiopia

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The political system of Ethiopia of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is nominally a parliamentary democracy with a federal-state structure and is based on the constitution of August 22, 1995 .

The system of ethnic federalism, which is based on mutual tolerance and the protection of minorities, diminishes the traditional supremacy of the Amhars in Ethiopia, which, like most states on the continent, is a multiethnic state. During the tenure of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi , who died in 2012, there was a growing trend towards authoritarianism in the government's practical policy . In the Democracy Index of The Economist magazine , the country fell from 105th to 123rd out of 167 countries between 2006 and 2012. In 2006 it was classified as part of the so-called hybrid regimes , according to this index it is now an authoritarian regime .

Political development

Before 1975, Ethiopia was an absolutist empire under the name of the Abyssinian Empire. Until then it was considered the oldest still existing state structure in the world (the roots of this empire reached back to the kingdom of Aksum in the 5th century.). The state of Ethiopia is the only country in Africa that never came under European colonial rule; it was able to hold its own against the Italian invaders in the 19th century (it was only briefly occupied by Italy during the Second World War ). At that time Italy could only incorporate the colony of Eritrea . Rather, the empire tried to put its own imperialist plans into practice and set about incorporating the areas populated by Oromo and Somali.

Ethiopian Embassy in Beijing

The country adopted its first constitution in 1931, the 1931 constitution of the Abyssinian Empire . From then on, the country of Abyssinia was formally a constitutional monarchy. Nevertheless, the emperor ( Negus ) stood above the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Ethiopia was occupied by fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941 and was part of the Italian colonial territory of Italian East Africa . After the liberation of the country in World War II, the German Empire adopted a new constitution in 1955 , which, however, did not affect the position of the emperor either. From 1952 to 1962 the former Italian colony of Eritrea was gradually incorporated into the state.

In 1974 there were revolts in the country, so that the emperor was overthrown, the imperial parliament was dissolved and the monarchy was abolished. A Provisional Military Administrative Council ( DERG ) took control and established a communist republic, which was closely based on the Eastern Bloc . Ethiopia was thus a socialist military dictatorship . Various conservative , nationalist and communist resistance groups were formed all over the country who wanted to overthrow the new military regime.

In 1984 the communist regime itself formed its own Marxist unity party, the Ethiopian Labor Party . When a new constitution came into force in 1987 , military rule was transformed into a civilian system of government. In 1991 various liberation movements took the capital Addis Ababa and overthrew the socialist system. The interim government of Ethiopia was formed until 1995 . The former province of Eritrea withdrew from the Ethiopian national territory in 1993.

Constitution

According to the constitution of August 22, 1995, Ethiopia is a federal and democratic state with a pluralistic multi-party system . The Ethiopian constitution itself guarantees fundamental rights, including human rights . However, the constitutional ideals often do not coincide with reality. Despite the constitutional prohibition of discrimination and efforts by the government, women's rights are not consistently realized. However, the constitution protects children's rights.

executive

According to the 1995 constitution, the President is appointed by the House of Representatives for a term of 6 years and may not belong to any party. Sahle-Work Zewde has been State President since October 25, 2018 . However, executive power rests with the Prime Minister, who is also the Commander in Chief of the armed forces . As a rule, it is usually provided by the party that won the previous parliamentary election.

The Council of Ministers is composed of the Prime Minister, the Vice Prime Minister, various ministers and persons who are convened by the Council of Representatives of the Peoples in the Council of Ministers. Abiy Ahmed from the EPRDF has been Prime Minister of the country since April 2018 .

legislative branch

The legislative branch at the federal level rests with the bicameral parliament ( Parliamentary Federal Assembly , Amharic Shengo ), consisting of the People's House of Representatives (Amharic: Yehizbtewekayoch Mekir Bet also briefly or Parlama ) - with a maximum of 550 deputies who are elected directly for five years - and the Federal Palace ( Yefedereshn Mekir Bet ) with 117 members. The 117 members of the Federal Council are each made up of one of the country's ethnic groups , peoples with more than one million members have an additional member. There is an ombudsman appointed by parliament and a human rights commission of parliament.

The nine regions have their own state parliaments, which are directly elected.

The last parliamentary elections took place on May 23, 2010. After the 2010 elections, the federal parliament consisted of members of the following parties and an independent candidate:

Party or coalition Share of votes Seats
Revolutionary Democratic Front of the Ethiopian Peoples 91.2% 499
Democratic Party of the Somali People 4.4% 24
Democratic united front of the peoples of Benishangul-Gumuz 1.6% 9
National Democratic Party of the Afar 1.5% 8th
Democratic Movement of the Peoples of Gambellas 0.5% 3
National League of Aderi 0.2% 1
Democratic Movement of the Argobba Nationality 0.2% 1
Forum for Democratic Dialogue 0.2% 1
total 99.8% 546

Source: IPU Parline

There are also extra-parliamentary, partly illegal parties and resistance movements. The next elections took place on May 23, 2015.

Judiciary

Like the Vice- President, the President of the Supreme Federal Court of Justice is proposed by the Prime Minister and appointed by the House of Representatives ; For other federal judges, the Prime Minister submits a list of candidates who have been selected by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council , which is then submitted to the House of Representatives for appointment.

The independence of the judiciary is anchored in the constitution. However, the judiciary is overloaded. Funding for the judiciary and public administration remains inadequate.

administration

Regions of Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, the 9 largest ethnic groups have their own states (Amharic: kililoch , singular - kilil ). The Federal Republic is divided into a total of 9 federal states, which according to the 1995 constitution even have the right to leave the Federal Republic. They also have their own legislative and executive bodies.

There are also two independent cities ( astedader akababiwach , singular - astedader akabibi ): Addis Ababa (1) and Dire Dawa (5). The nine regions are Afar (2), Amhara (3), Benishangul / Gumaz (4), Gambela (6), Harar (7), Oromia (8), Somali (9), region of southern nations, nationalities and peoples ( 10) and Tigray (11).

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Brockhaus Encyclopedia in 5 volumes (2004), Volume 1: A – EIS. P. 259.
  2. ↑ a b Foreign Office : Ethiopian Domestic Policy ( Memento of the original from 23 August 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / Auswaertiges-amt.de
  3. ^ The daily newspaper : Authoritarian government in Ethiopia. March 24, 2010.
  4. ↑ Democracy Index 2006 ( English , PDF; 101 kB).
  5. ↑ Democracy Index 2011
  6. ↑ Brockhaus Encyclopedia in 5 volumes (2004), Volume 1: A – EIS. P. 260.
  7. ↑ a b c Federal Foreign Office: Human Rights in Ethiopia ( Memento of the original from 23 August 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / Auswaertiges-amt.de
  8. ↑ BBC News: Abiy Ahmed: Ethiopia's prime minister. September 14, 2018 , accessed October 25, 2018
  9. ↑ a b Meyers Großes Länderlexikon , 2005, L, p. 48.
  10. ↑ Ethiopian Embassy in the United Kingdom ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ethioembassy.org.uk
  11. ↑ Ethiopian federal court receives TIGA award  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / ena.gov.et