| Parliament name |
- |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Yehizb Tewokayoch Mekir Bete / House of Peoples' Representatives |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Yefedereshein Mekir Bete / House of the Federation
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
15 May 2005 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
On 15 May 2005 elections were held for 524 of the 547 the seats in the lower house of Ethiopia
the House of Peoples' Representatives
on the normal expiration of the members' term of office. For logistical reasons
elections for 23 national constituencies in the regional state of Somali were held separately on 21 August 2005.
Before the election
the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF)
had an overwhelming majority in the lower house where the three main opposition groups - the Council of Alternative Forces for Peace and Democracy in Ethiopia
the Southern Ethiopia People's Democratic Coalition
and the Hadiya National Democratic Organization - held only nine seats. Mr. Zenawi
who has been Prime Minister since 1995
was seeking re-election for a third term.
In this election
for which 1
594 candidates
including 273 women
were presented
opposition parties united for the first time. They advocated a bigger role for free markets
promising to create jobs by privatization and by ending State ownership of land. The government insisted that the State must own land in order to give more security to farmers.
On 28 April
the government was accused by the opposition of masterminding the murder of two opposition supporters
and the imprisonment and torture of more than 40 people. The government denied those allegations.
The elections went off in relative peace with a turnout of 82.6 per cent of the 27 million registered voters in this country of 72 million inhabitants. Many polling stations were overwhelmed with voters
with some in the region remaining open to 5 a.m. the following morning in order to accommodate all voters.
Unlike in the previous elections
international observers were allowed to monitor the election
with 429 foreign observers present on polling day
including teams from the Carter Center and the European Union (EU). The observers from both these teams praised the overwhelming turnout as evidence of a vibrant democracy
but criticized the delay and possible fraud in the vote counting process. The European Union (EU) observer mission criticized post-polling day irregularities
delays and questionable vote counting. The government accused the EU of bias.
Preliminary results showed a major breakthrough for opposition parties
particularly in some major towns. The results were challenged by the opposition
which claimed victory in the polls. Allegations were also made of widespread irregularities.
On 6 June
the National Electoral Board announced that the final results
scheduled for 8 June
would be delayed for one month in order to deal with complaints that had been lodged by parties in 299 constituencies. The government banned election-related demonstrations until the publication of the official results. Many students in the capital
Addis Ababa
defied the ban and blocked the Addis Ababa University to protest the election results. On 6 June the police intervened and arrested some 500 students
which intensified post-election violence
resulting in at least 36 deaths. On 10 June
the EPRDF and the CUD signed a document condemning the violence under EU mediation. On 12 June
a newly elected UEDF parliamentarian became the 37th victim
reportedly shot by the police. The case was still under investigation as at March 2006.
On 9 August 2005
the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) announced official results for 492 constituencies. These gave the EPRDF 296 seats
surpassing the 274 required to form a new government. EPRDF allies won a further 22 seats
giving the ruling coalition to a total number of 318 seats. The opposition won a total of 173 seats
as follows: CUD
109
UEDF
52; the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM)
11; and the Argoba National Democratic Organization (ANDO)
1. The remaining seat went to an independent candidate.
The NEBE also ordered elections to be re-contested in 31 constituencies under investigation. The re-runs were held on 21 August 2005
with all 31 seats going to the EPRDF.
On 21 August
federal and state council elections were held in the Somali state
where some 1.5 million people were registered to vote. Opposition groups
which had planned to present 77 candidates
pulled out of the election to protest against intimidation and fraud
although some opposition candidates apparently decided on their own to take part in the election. Voting was largely peaceful
although some irregularities were reported. The Somali People's Democratic Party (SPDP)
an ally of the EPRDF
won 23 seats. Additionally
a by-election will be held in Arsi Negele constituency in Oromiya state
where the UEDF parliamentarian-elect died before the announcement of the final results on 5 September.
The new parliament was convened on 10 October 2005. The first session of the House of Peoples' Representatives was boycotted by more than 100 opposition parliamentarians
mainly from the CUD. The House elected Mr. Teshome Toga as the new speaker
and re-elected Mr. Meles Zenawi as prime minister. On the same day
the House of the Federation
for which indirect elections had been held between 3 and 6 October 2005
elected Mr. Degife Bula as its new speaker. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 15 May 2005 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
27'372'888
22'610'690 (82.6%)
|
|
Notes
|
Registered Voter figures exclude the Somali Region. |
| Round no 2 | 21 August 2005 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| All Ehtiopia Unity Organization (AEUO) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| United Ethiopian Democratic Party-Medhin (UEDP-MEDHIN) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Benishangul-Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front (BGPDUF) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Afar National Democratic Party (ANDP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Rainbow Ethiopian Movement for Democracy and Social Justice (REMDSJ) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Gambela People's Democratic Movement (GPDM) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Ethiopian Democratic League |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Sheko and Mezenger People's Democratic Unity Organization (SMPDUO) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Somali People's Democratic Party (SPDP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Harari National League (HNL) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Argoba National Democratic Organization (ANDO) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round no 2
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Somali People's Democratic Party (SPDP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) |
296
|
|
|
|
|
| United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) |
52
|
|
|
|
|
| All Ehtiopia Unity Organization (AEUO) |
43
|
|
|
|
|
| United Ethiopian Democratic Party-Medhin (UEDP-MEDHIN) |
36
|
|
|
|
|
| Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) |
11
|
|
|
|
|
| Benishangul-Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front (BGPDUF) |
8
|
|
|
|
|
| Afar National Democratic Party (ANDP) |
8
|
|
|
|
|
| Rainbow Ethiopian Movement for Democracy and Social Justice (REMDSJ) |
8
|
|
|
|
|
| Gambela People's Democratic Movement (GPDM) |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| Ethiopian Democratic League |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Sheko and Mezenger People's Democratic Unity Organization (SMPDUO) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Somali People's Democratic Party (SPDP) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Harari National League (HNL) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Argoba National Democratic Organization (ANDO) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round no 2
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) |
31
|
|
|
|
|
| Somali People's Democratic Party (SPDP) |
23
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
410
116
21.21%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE); http://www.electionsethiopia.org/Index.html
- Press Officer of the NEBE (03.02.2006)
- House of Peoples' Representatives (23.03.2006)
Official results for 526 of 547 seats. Twenty members elected under the banner of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) had not taken up seats as at 23 March 2006. There is another vacant seat for a UEDF parliamentarian-elect who died before the announcement of the final results on 5 September 2005.
As at 31 March 2006
three other members elected under the banner of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) had taken up their seats
bringing the total number of CUD seats to 92. There were 529 members in all of whom 116 were women (House of Peoples' Representatives
23.03.2006)
*Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is an alliance of 24 political groups including:
- Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM): 87 seats
- Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO): 110 seats
- Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF): 38 seats
- Southern Ethiopia People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM): 92 seats
The following political parties are allied to the EPRDF:
- Benishangul-Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front (BGPDUF): 8 seats
- Afar National Democratic Party (ANDP): 8 seats
- Gambela People's Democratic Movement (GPDM): 3 seats
- Argoba National Democratic Organization (ANDO): 1 seat
- Somali People's Democratic Party (SPDP): 24 seats
- Harari National League (HNL): 1 seat
** The All Ehtiopia Unity Organization (AEUO)
the United Ethiopian Democratic Party-Medhin (UEDP-MEDHIN)
the Rainbow Ethiopian Movement for Democracy and Social Justice (REMDSJ)
and the Ethiopian Democratic League were members of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD)
created in 2004. The CUD was an electoral coalition recognized by the National Electoral Bureau of Ethiopia (NEBE) for purposes of the 15 May 2005 election
which
according the NEBE
had not continued functioning after the elections. Twenty of the 109 members of the CUD have not taken up their seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives
bringing the total number of CUD seats down to 89.
By-elections will be held for Arsi Negele constituency in Oromiya state
where a UEDF candidate-elect died before the announcement of the final results on 5 September 2005. As at 23 March 2006
the seat was still vacant. |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
