Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front
|
|
Template:Election ethiopia The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, or EPRDF, is the ruling political party of Ethiopia.
It is an alliance of four other groups, including the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization, the Amhara National Democratic Movement, the South Ethiopian Peoples' Democratic Front and the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front. Together they have 472 of the 527 seats in the Council of Peoples' Representatives following the election held in May 2000.
Unlike conventional understanding, it should be noted that all four groups are regional-ethnic parties and were created by the TPLF when it created EPRDF as a so-called coalition party. In reality, members of parliament from these parties consistently vote with TPLF and have no real independence outside the direction of TPLF. In addition the parties enjoy no real support from the regions they are supposed to represent. As a result therefore real power and direction of EPRDF continues to be with members of the TPLF core leadership and more specifically with the Prime Minister.
The opposition in Ethiopia is divided but still exists. The EPRDF's two main opponents in the 2005 elections were the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), both of which are also coalitions of opposition parties.
Before it became the government in 1991, it was a rebel group, battling the military junta known as the Derg.ja:エチオピア人民革命民主戦線 Template:Poli-stub