(4 minutes read)
· The House of Federation (HoF) of Ethiopia, known as the upper parliamentary chamber, has approved an extension to the mandate of the current parliament. The extension is also granted to regional parliaments and councils
· The approval was given by 114 members voting in favor and four against and one abstaining from voting
· The term of the current parliament will expire in October this year
The House of Federation (HoF) of Ethiopia, known as the upper parliamentary chamber, has approved an extension to the mandate of the current parliament. The extension is also granted to regional parliaments and councils. The extension is open-ended and is till the
time the threat from coronavirus is over. The approval was given by 114 members voting in favor, four against and one abstaining from
voting. The term of the current parliament will expire in October this year. However, the elections for forming the re-constituted Parliament were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which were originally to take place on August 29.
The HoF recommendations included that the state councils and the executive at federal and state levels be extended for as long as
COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a threat to public health and a current State of Emergency (SOE) remains in place. It also says that elections will be held within a year after the relevant authorities declare that COVID-19 pandemic is no longer a threat to public health.
Some opposition leaders have called for a caretaker government to guide the country to elections. Prime Minister Abiy dismissed the
suggestion as unworkable during a question-and-answer session recently with lawmakers. Some of the members,however, expressed the
view that the House of Federation vote does not have any constitutional backing. An opposition party leader said that his party
members would meet soon to figure out how to respond to the approval of HOF.
Many political analysts predict that there could be a showdown between ruling and opposition parties, if opposition parties en masse reject the recommendation as unconstitutional. It can spark demonstrations and even boycott of elections, whenever it is held, leading to political instability, reducing the chances of a democratically fought elections as assured by Abiy, when he assumed the office.
