Constitution of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
The constitution of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (DPR) from 1987 was the third constitution in the history of Ethiopia . It was the first and at the same time the only constitution in the period of the rule of the dictator Mengistu Haile Mariams between 1974 and 1991. The constitution from 1987 replaced the constitution of the Ethiopian Empire from 1955 .
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The constitution ended the rule of the Dergue - military government , a Provisional Military Administrative Board , was formed the Ethiopian government Soviet-style and opened, thus initiating formally the period of the Democratic People's Republic of Ethiopia a (DVR) on a legal basis. The constitution itself was based on the Soviet constitution of 1977 . It was introduced in the course of the restructuring process of the military ruler Mengistu after the government founded a Marxist unity party, the Communist Workers' Party of Ethiopia , in 1984 . The Ethiopian state was a one-party system under the Labor Party of Ethiopia, the unity party was closely interwoven with the state.
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The constitution of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was adopted by the people after a referendum on February 1, 1987 and entered into force on February 22, 1987. Of the 14,570,011 registered voters, 14,035,718 officially cast their votes. The voter turnout was 96.3%. Of these, 81% officially voted for the constitution and 19% against. The system, based on a military coup in 1974, was only to be given a legal basis by this constitution.
The constitution did not expire until 1991 when the interim government under the Revolutionary Democratic Front of the Ethiopian Peoples , a rebel organization and later ruling coalition, seized power in the capital Addis Ababa . The constitution was replaced by the constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1995, which abolished the centralized system.