| Organisation | Ethiopia House of People Representatives |
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| u.r.l. | http://www.ethiopar.net/English/hopre/hoprep.htm |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Location | Addis Ababa |
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| Sector | Parliament - General |
| Organisation Type | African Government |
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| Notes | The House of Peoples' Representatives came into being on August 21, 1995 when the newly elected MPs met, to setup this highest authority of the Federal Government. According to Article 54/1 of the Constitution of FDRE, members of the House of Peoples' Representatives are elected by the people for a term of five years on the basis of universal suffrage and direct, free and fair elections held by secret ballot. With the exception of the States of Afar, Somali and Gambella a nation wide election was held on May 7, 1995 while in the three mentioned States election was conducted on June 18, 1995. In 1991 the Drgue regime with its crimes were overthrown by the bitter struggle of the Ethiopian Peoples' under the leadership of the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). At this juncture a National Conference comprised of the various coalition parties was convened in Addis Ababa in July of 1991 which set up the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE). The TGE that prepared the ground for the establishment of a new government was guided by a charter. During this period a constitutional drafting body was established. After the pros and cons of the draft constitution were discussed by the peoples of Ethiopia, a new constitution was adopted on December 8/1994. This Constitution explicitly recognized that Ethiopia is to have a Federal system and parliamentarian form of government. In this course of action there are at present nine member states that formed the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia whereby member states of the Federation have equal rights and powers. By and large the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia comprises the Federal Government and the State members with their own legislative, executive and judicial powers. Based on the constitution a general election was held and EPRDF won the election and formed a government at federal level. At state level, from the nine member states of the Federation, the majority party, EPRDF won a majority only in four states, i.e., the State of Tigray, Amhara, Oromiya, and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples. In the rest five States i.e. the State of Afar, Somalia, Benishangul Gumuz, Gambella peoples and the Harari People the minority parties won the election and formed government. The present federal parliament is bicameral i.e. the House of Peoples' Representatives (HPR) and the House of the Federation (HF). Members of the HPR are directly elected by the people for a term of five years on the basis of universal suffrage by secret ballot. HPR is the highest authority of the Federal Government. Currently there are 548 members who have been elected from different parties and independent members by way of a peaceful proselytization process. Out of the 548 seats EPRDF has the majority seats of 496 and the rest are under minority parties and independent members. Each member of the HPR represent 100,000 constituency. By the same token, they are representatives of the Ethiopian People at large and have the power of legislation in all matters assigned by the constitution to Federal jurisdiction. There are nine standing committees in the HPR of which two of them are being chaired by the members of minority parties. This shows that the minority parties have shared power in the parliament with the majority party, EPRDF. It is not only in the parliament that the minority parties shared power with the majority, but also in the government i.e. they are members of the cabinet. In order to share parliamentary experience with other countries eight parliamentary friendship groups have been formed and have started functioning so as to cultivate friendly relationship with other countries. The House of the Federation is composed of representatives of Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia. Each Nation, Nationality and People is to be represented by at least one member and by one additional representative for each one million of its population. Members are to be elected by the State Council or by the people of the State directly. At present there are 108 members in the House. The House has the power to interpret the constitution, decide on the issues relating to the rights of Nations, Nationalities and Peoples to self determination including the right to secession, strive to find solutions to disputes or misunderstandings that may arise between states, determine the division of revenue to the States and the like. The House of the Federation holds at least two sessions annually and its term of mandate is five years. Both Houses hold a joint session concerning election of the president of the Republic, at the commencement of the annual session of the parliament, human rights problem, amending the constitution etc. In general terms, unlike the former parliament and Shengo, the present parliament of Ethiopia is comprised of different political parties. In the parliament the minority parties have enjoyed freedom of expressing their political views without the domination of the majority party. Thus all parties are working in harmony for the betterment of the country. The House of Peoples' Representatives of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia at its 4 th ordinary session held on October 27, 2005 approved the organization of the membership of its twelve standing committees. Pursuant to Article 55 of the federal constitution and proclamation 171/2002, the House passed the decision so as to accomplish its duties and responsibilities properly entrusted to it by the Federal Constitution and the people. The membership of the standing committee was allocated proportionally to the seat each party has in the House. Members of the committees were proposed by the respective parties. Leadership of the committee took into account education, work experience and leadership capability. The proposal presented by the speaker to the House was approved by the House. The CUD members will be given membership in the standing committees' proportion to their seats. Procedurally, following preliminary discussions that it holds, the House channels incoming bills to one of the committees. Each committee then publicizes the bill once it gets hold of it. It organizes a public hearing and entertains suggestions either in print, vision or any media and presents to the House Speaker a well documented report on any given bill which will be forward to the House. The House Speaker and the committee in question chair the House deliberations. The House of People's Representatives (HPR) is the highest authority of the federal government and retains legislative powers over all matters of federal jurisdiction. Members of the HPR are elected for five year terms on the basis of universal suffrage by direct elections held by secret ballot. The electoral system to the HPR is majoritarian. Members of the HPR are elected on the basis of the majority of votes cast in single-member constituencies. The electoral system is often referred to as a “first past the post” system, under which the candidate who receives more votes than any competitors within a constituency is declared the winner. The membership of the HPR currently stands at 547, with 22 seats reserved for representatives of minority Nationalities and Peoples. The Prime Minister is elected from among the members of the HPR. Responsibility for government is assumed by the political party or coalition of political parties which constitute a majority in the HRP. |
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| Record last updated on 17 NOV 2006 |