1995 Ethiopian general election

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1995 Ethiopian general election
Ethiopia
← 1987 7-18 May 1995 2000 →
All 546 seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives
273 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader % Seats +/–
OPDO 176 +176
ANDM 133 +133
TPLF 38 +38
EPRDF 21 +21
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Politics of Ethiopia
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General elections were held in

Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party.[2]

Background

After President Mengistu Haile Mariam fled the country, a national conference in July 1991 led to the creation of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE). The TGE's main goal was to establish a Constitution for a federal republic, as well as create orderly elections for the legislative arm of that republic. On 5 January 1995, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) set the date for the general elections which would mark the end of the transition, for May of that year.

Observers considered it a foregone conclusion that the majority of the 547 seats in the

House of People's Representatives would be won by the ruling coalition known as the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which had assumed power after overthrowing President Mengistu and had been the dominant force in the TGE. Primary opposition came from the small Ethiopian National Democratic Party, led by Nebiyu Samuel. Four of the seven national parties boycotted the poll, alleging unequal conditions for the various contending groups. Despite this, one source states as many as 2871 candidates competed for seats,[3] although the NEBE reported 2741 candidates competed, consisting of 1881 people from 58 political organizations, mostly components of the EPRDF, and 960 independent candidates.[4]

To handle the millions of citizens who came to cast their votes, 40,000 polling stations were opened. In addition to local observers Britain, the United States, Italy, France, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, Canada, Finland, Norway, and Russia provided observers and the

Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party were arrested in Gondar and Bahir Dar.[5]

Results

The EPRDF and its allies won 471 of the 547 seats in the Council, with other parties and independents taking the remaining 75 seats.[6] Most of these seats won by other parties were in "frontier regions" – Afar, Somali, Gambela, Benishagul-Gumuz, and Harar – which were allocated 57 seats. "Competitions in these frontier regions tended to be extremely complicated," notes Lyon, who records such incidents as two brothers who, at one point, offered different candidate lists for the Afar Liberation Front.[7]

Party or allianceVotes%Seats
Hareri National League
1
Kebena Nationality Democratic Organization1
Mareko Peoples' Democratic Organization1
National Democratic Party1
Silte People's Democratic Unity Party1
Western Somali Democratic Party1
Zeisei Peoples' Democratic Organization1
Other parties2
Independents10
Total19,826,290100.00546
Valid votes19,826,29099.20
Invalid/blank votes159,8890.80
Total votes19,986,179100.00
Registered voters/turnout21,337,37993.67
Source: Nohlen et al.

References

  1. ^ a b "Monthly Situation Report for Ethiopia: May 1995" UNDP-EUE (accessed 19 January 2009)
  2. ^ "Elections in Ethiopia: (f) Election 1995" Archived 2009-04-08 at the Wayback Machine, EPRDF website (accessed 29 May 2009)
  3. ^ Ethiopia Parliamentary Chamber: Elections held in 1995, PARLINE database (accessed 20 October 2009)
  4. ^ Terrence Lyons, "Closing the Transition: The May 1995 Elections in Ethiopia", Journal of Modern African Studies, 34 (1996), p. 132
  5. ^ Lyons, "Closing the Transition", pp. 134, 136, 139
  6. ISBN 0-19-829645-2
  7. ^ Lyons, "Closing the Transition", p. 138
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