Government & politics — Ethiopia

• History: Several previous; latest drafted June 1994, adopted 8 December 1994,
• entered into force 21 August 1995 Amendments: Proposals submitted for discussion require two-thirds majority approval in either house of Parliament or majority approval of one-third of the State Councils; passage of amendments other than constitutional articles on fundamental rights and freedoms and the initiation and amendment of the constitution requires two-thirds majority vote in a joint session of Parliament and majority vote by two thirds of the State Councils; passage of amendments affecting rights and freedoms and amendment procedures requires two-thirds majority vote in each house of Parliament and majority vote by all the State Councils

• Chief of State: Presiden
• t SAHLE-WORK Zewde (since 25 October 2018) Head of Government: Prime Minister ABIY Ahmed Ali (since April 2018); Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Af
• fairs DEMEKE Mekonnen Hassen (since 29 November 2012) Cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the prime minister and approved by
• the House of People's Representatives Elections/Appointments: President indirectly elected by both chambers of Parliament for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); election held on 21 June 2021 and 30 September 2021 (the scheduled 29 August 2020 election was postponed by Prime Minister ABIY due to the COVID-19 pandemic); prime minister designated by the ma
• jority party following legislative elections Election results: 2021: SAHLE-WORK Zewde reelected president during joint session of Parliament, vote - 659 (unanimous); ABIY confirmed Prime Minist
• er by House of Peoples' Representatives (4 October 2021) 2018: SAHLE-WORK Zewde elected president during joint session of Parliament, vote - 659 (unanimous); note - snap election held on 25 Oct
• ober 2018 due to resignation of President MULATA Teshome Note: SAHLE-WORK Zewde is the first female elected head of state in Ethiopia; she is currently the only female president in Africa.

Description

Bicameral Parliament consists of: House of Federation or Yefedereshein Mikir Bete (153 seats maximum; 144 seats current; members indirectly elected by state assemblies to serve 5-year terms) House of People's Representatives or Yehizb Tewokayoch Mekir Bete (547 seats maximum; 470 seats current; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; 22 seats reserved for minorities; all members serve 5-year terms)

Elections

House of Federation - last held 4 October 2021 (next expected in October 2026) House of People's Representatives - last held in two parts on 21 June 2021 and 30 September 2021 (next expected in June 2026)

Election Results

• House of Federation - percent of vote by coalition/party - NA
• seats by coalition/party - NA;

Composition

• men 100, women 44, percent of women 30.6% House of Representatives - percent of vote by coalition/party - NA
• seats by coalition/party - Prosperity Party 454, NAMA 5, EZEMA 4, Gedeo People's Democratic organization 2, Kucha People Democratic Party 1, independent 4;

Composition

men 275, women 195, percent of women 41.5%;

Note

• total Parliament percent of women 38.9% Notes: House of Federation is responsible for interpreting the constitution and federal-regional issues and the House of People's Representatives is responsible for passing legislation
• percent of vote percentages are calculated on the number of members actually seated versus on the constitutional maximums

• Highest court(s): Federal Supreme Court (consists of 11 judges); note - the House of Federation has jurisdiction for
• all constitutional issues Judge selection and term of office: President and vice president of Federal Supreme Court recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; other Supreme Court judges nominated by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council (a 10-member body chaired by the president of the Federal Supreme Court) and appointed by the House of People's Representatives;
• judges serve until retirement at age 60 Subordinate courts: Federal high courts and federal courts of first instance; state court systems (mirror structure of federal system); sharia courts and customary and traditional courts

12 ethnically based regional states (kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 chartered cities* (astedader akabibiwach, singular - astedader akabibi); Adis Abeba* (Addis Ababa), Afar, Amara (Amhara), Binshangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa*, Gambela Hizboch (Gambela), Hareri Hizb (Harari), Oromia, Sidama, Somali, Tigray, YeDebub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples), YeDebub M'irab Ityop'iya Hizboch (Southwest Ethiopia Peoples), Southern Ethiopia Peoples

• House of People's Representatives: Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice and Democracy or EZEMA [BERHANU Nega]
• Gedeo People's Democratic Party Independent [n/a]
• Kucha People Democratic Party National Movement of Amhara or NAMA [BELETE Molla]
• Prosperity Party or PP [ABIY Ahmed Ali]
• Note: Ethiopia has over fifty national-level and regional-level political parties. The ruling party, the Prosperity Party, was created by Prime Minister ABIY in November 2019 from member parties of the former Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which included the Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), Oromo Democratic Party (ODP), Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM), plus other EPRDF-allied parties such as the Afar National Democratic Party (ANDP), Benishangul Gumuz People’s Democratic Party (BGPDP), Gambella People’s Democratic Movement (GPDM), Somali People’s Democratic Party (SPDP), and the Harari National League (HNL). Once the Prosperity Party was created, the various ethnically-based parties that comprised or were affiliated with the EPRDF were subsequently disbanded; in January 2021, the Ethiopian electoral board de-registered the Tigray People’s Liberation Front or TPLF; national level parties are qualified to register candidates in multiple regions across Ethiopia; regional parties can register candidates for both national and regional parliaments, but only in one region of Ethiopia

• No Citizenship by descent only: At least one par
• No Residency requirement for naturalization: 4 years

ACP, AfDB, ATMIS, AU, BRICS, COMESA, EITI, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (accession candidate)

Chief of mission

Ambassador Ervin MASSINGA (since 4 October 2023) Embassy: Entoto Street, P.O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa Mailing address: 2030 Addis Ababa Place, Washington DC 20521-2030

Telephone

[251] 111-30-60-00

FAX

[251] 111-24-24-01

Email address and website

• AddisACS@state.gov
• https://et.usembassy.gov/

Chief of mission

Ambassador SELESHI Bekele Awulachew (since 7 June 2022)

Chancery

3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

Telephone

[1] (202) 364-1200

FAX

[1] (202) 587-0195

Email address and website

• ethiopia@ethiopianembassy.org
• https://ethiopianembassy.org/

Consulate(s) general

Los Angeles Consulate(s): New York