This article lists political parties in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has a multi-party parliament. The legislature was mostly dominated by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, until it was succeeded by the Prosperity Party in December 2019. The latest general election would have taken place in August 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] The most recent general election took place in 2021.

List

Parliamentary parties

PartyPolitical positionsIdeologyCreatedHouse
Prosperity Party
Amharic: ብልጽግና ፓርቲ, romanized: Bilit͟s’igina Paritī
Oromo: Paartii Badhaadhiinaa
Somali: Xisbiga Barwaaqo		 Centre 2019[2]
410 / 547
National Movement of Amhara
Amharic: የአማራ ብሔራዊ ንቅናቄ, romanized: Ye’āmara Biḥērawī Nik’inak’ē		 Centre-right
to right-wing		 2018
5 / 547
Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice
Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ዜጎች ለማህበራዊ ፍትህ, romanized: Ye-Ïtiyop'iya Zēgochi Le-mahiberawī Fitih		 Centre 2019
4 / 547
Gedeo People's Democratic Party
Amharic: የጌዲዮን ህዝቦች ዲሞክራሲያዊ ፓርቲ		 1992
2 / 547
Tigray People's Liberation Front
Tigrinya: ህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይ, romanized: Ḥəzbawi Wäyanä Ḥarənnät Təgray		 Left-wing 1975[3]
0 / 547

Other national parties

National parties without members of parliament as of 5 October 2020[4] include:

Other national parties
NameNative nameIdeologyNotes
Freedom and Equality PartyAmharic: ነጻነትና እኩልነት ፓርቲModerate liberalismEstablished in 2019
All Ethiopian National MovementAmharic: የመላው ኢትዮጵያውያን ብሔራዊ ንቅናቄN/A
All-Ethiopia Socialist MovementAmharic: መላ ኢትዮጵያ ሶሻሊስት ንቅናቄOldest communist party in Ethiopia. Member of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces[5]
Balderas Party Amharic: ባልደራስ ፓርቲ Founded by political activist Eskinder Nega in 2019
Alliance for Freedom and Democracy?Self-determinationCoalition of former separatist groups.
Ethiopian Citizens for Social JusticeAmharic: የኢትዮጵያ ዜጎች ለማኅበራዊ ፍትህ, romanized: ye-Ïtiyop'iya zēgochi le-mahiberawī fitihCreated through the merger of 7 opposition parties.
Ethiopian Democratic LeagueAmharic: የኢትዮጵያ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሊግN/AFormer member of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy.
Ethiopian Democratic PartyAmharic: ከኢትዮጵያዊያን ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፓርቲMember of Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice.
Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (Medrek)Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ አንድነት መድረክOfficially a coalition of 5 parties.
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary PartyAmharic: የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝባዊ አብዮታዊ ፓርቲNon-ethnic federalismFormer communist party.
Ethiopian Social Democratic PartyAmharic: ኢትዮጵያ ማህበረ-ዴሞክራሲ ፌደራላዊ ፓርቲSocial democracyFormer member of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces.
Ginbot 7Amharic: ግንቦት 7N/APolitical organisation.
Islamic Front for the Liberation of the OromoOromo: Adda Islaama Bilisummaa OromiyaaOromo self-determinationOromo militant party.
Kefagn Patriotic Front?N/AFormed by soldiers from the army of Mengistu Haile Mariam.
Oromo Federalist CongressOromo: Koongiresii Federalawaa OromooFormed in 2012 from merger of OPC with OFDM.[6]
Rainbow Ethiopia: Movement for Democracy and Social JusticeAmharic: ቀስተደመና ኢትዮጵያ ንቅናቄ ለዴሞክራሲና ለማህበራዊ ፍትህN/AFormer member of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy.
Sidama National Liberation Front?Sidama self-determinationSidama militant group. Inactive.
Western Somali Democratic PartySomali: Somali GalbedSomali nationalismFormer separatist group.
Coalition of Ethiopian Federalist ForcesAmharic: የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራሊስት ኃይሎች ጥምረትPolitical coalition.

Other regional parties

Regional parties
NameNative nameIdeologyCreatedNotes
All-Amhara People's OrganizationAmharic: የመላው አማራ ሕዝብ ድርጅትMinority politics1993[7]Former member of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces.
Afar Liberation Front?Afar interestsFormer militant group turned political party.
Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity FrontAfar: Qafar Uguugumoh Demokrasiyyoh Inkiinoh FoocaAfar self-determinationAfar militant party.
Arena Tigray For Democracy and SovereigntyTigrinya: ዓረና ትግራይ ንዲሞክራሲን ንሉኣላዊነትንearly 2000s[8]
Assimba Democratic PartyTigrinya: ዓሲምባ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፖርቲSocial democracy[9]Oct 2019[9]Irob based party[10]
Ethiopian People's Patriotic FrontAmharic: የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አርበኞች ግንባርN/ARebel group formerly active in Eritrea.
Ethiopian Unity Patriots Front?c. 1993[11]Part of the Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front.
Harari People's Democratic PartyAmharic: የሐረሪ ሕዝብ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፓረቲMinority politicsHarari minority party.
National Movement of AmharaAmharic: የአማራ ብሔራዊ ንቅናቄMinority politicsJun 2018[12]
Ogaden National Liberation FrontSomali: Jabhadda Wadaniga Xoreynta OgaadeenyaSomali nationalismSomali militant organisation.
Oromo Liberation FrontOromo: Adda Bilisummaa OromooDec 1973[13]Oromo armed movement and party.
Sheko and Mezenger People's Democratic Unity OrganizationAmharic: የሸኮና መዠንገር ህዝቦች ዴሞክራሲያዊ ግንባርMinority politicsSheko and Mezenger minority party.
Southern Ethiopia Peoples' Democratic Coalition?Minority politicsA coalition from the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region.
Tigray Democratic SolidarityTigrinya: ዲሞክራስያዊ ስምረት ትግራይLiberalismMay 2025[14]Tigrayan opposition party against the TPLF.
Tigray Democratic PartyTigrinya: ትግራይ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፓርቲDec 2019[15]

Defunct parties

Party Abbr. Ideology Political position Leader Years active
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front
የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር		 EPRDF
Abiy Ahmed 1988–2019
Workers' Party of Ethiopia
የኢትዮጵያ ሠራተኞች ፓርቲ		 WPE Far-left Mengistu Haile Mariam 1984–1991
Commission for Organizing the Party of the Working People of Ethiopia
የኢትዮጵያ ሰራተኞች ፓርቲ አደራጅ ኮሚሽን		 COPWE Far-left Mengistu Haile Mariam 1979–1984
Common Front of Ethiopian Marxist–Leninist Organizations
የኢትዮጵያ ማርክሲስት ሌኒኒስት ድርጅቶች ኅብረት		 CFEM–LO Far-left Collective leadership 1977–1979
Provisional Office for Mass Organizational Affairs
የሕዝብ ጽሕፈት ጊዜያዊ ጽሕፌት ቤት		 POMOA Far-left Haile Fida 1975–1979
Other defunct parties
NameNative nameIdeologyNotes
Unity for Democracy and Justice?LiberalismMerged into Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice.
Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement?Merged into the Prosperity Party.
Afar National Democratic PartyAmharic: የአፋር ብሔራዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፓርቲAfar interestsMerged into the Prosperity Party.
Amhara Democratic PartyAmharic: አማራ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፓርቲAmhara interestsMerged into the Prosperity Party.
Argoba Nationality Democratic OrganizationAmharic: የአርጎባ ሕዝቦች ዴሞክራሲያዊ ንቅናቄMinority politicsArgoba minority party.
Benishangul-Gumuz People's Democratic Unity FrontAmharic: የቤንሻንጉልና ጉሙዝ ሕዝቦች ዴሞክራሲዊ አንድነትMinority politicsMerged into the Prosperity Party.
Ethiopian Somali Democratic League?Minority politicsSomali ethnic party.
Somali Democratic PartyAmharic: የሶማሌ ዴሞክራሲዊ ፓርቲDemocratic socialismMerged into the Prosperity Party.
Gambela People's Democratic MovementAmharic: የጋምቤላ ሕዝቦች ዴሞክራሲያዊ ንቅናቄMinority politicsMerged into the Prosperity Party.
Harari National LeagueHarari: ዚሐረሪ መሐዲያ ሊግHarari interestsMerged into the Prosperity Party.
Oromo Democratic Party?Merged into the Prosperity Party.
Oromo People's Congress?Minority politicsFormer Oromo ethnic party. Merged with OFDM in 2012, creating OFC.[6]
Oromo Federalist Democratic MovementOromo: Warraaqsa Federaalistii Uummata OromooFederalism2005[16]–2012;[6] Oromo party. Merged with OPC to create OFC.
Marxist–Leninist League of Tigray?Semi-clandestine group within the TPLF.
Abyotawit SededAmharic: አብዮታዊ ሰደድCommunismPolitical organisation led by Mengistu Haile Mariam.
Echat?CommunismDERG-era predecessor to the Oromo Liberation Front.
Ethiopian Marxist–Leninist Revolutionary Organization?Early DERG-era organisation.
Waz League?Minor predecessor to the Workers Party of Ethiopia.
All Ethiopian Unity Party?N/AFormer member of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy.
Semayawi Party?LiberalismMerged into Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice.
Coalition for Unity and DemocracyAmharic : ቅንጅት ለአንድነት እና ዴሞክራሲFormer coalition.
Coalition of Ethiopian Democratic Forces?Formed by former arch-rivals MEISON and Ihapa.
United Ethiopian Democratic ForcesAmharic: የኢትዮጵያ ዴሞክራሲዊ ኃይሎቸ ሕብረትFormer coalition.
Ethiopian Democratic Union?Helped form the Ethiopian Democratic Party.
Gambela People's Democratic Unity Party?Nuer interestsFormed due to mass displacement of Nuer people.
Gambela People's Liberation Movement?Former rebel group.
Horyaal Democratic Front?Former Gadabuursi clan paramilitary group.
Issa and Gurgura Liberation Front?
Former clan-based rebel group.

Notes

1.^ In 2022, a party of the same name sent in application for a registration license, it was denied by The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) in August of the same year.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Ethiopian Politics - Election 2020". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  2. ↑ "The EPRDF Officially Ends; The Prosperity Party Begins". Ezega News. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ↑ Berhe, Aregawi (2008). A Political History of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (1975-1991): Revolt, Ideology and Mobilisation in Ethiopia (PDF). Amsterdam: The Horn of Africa Research and Knowledge Exchange Platform: HAREP. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2020.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  4. ↑ "Ethiopian Parlament". Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  5. ↑ "United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) Member Organizations". 5 January 2010. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 "Bekele Gerba speaks!". Addis Standard. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. ↑ Barder, Brian (25 May 1999). "Asrat Woldeyes". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  8. ↑ "News: Tigray interim admin CEO says Mekelle gets new mayor, urges civil servants to resume work and cautions door-to-door search for unlawful firearms begins today". Addis Standard. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. 1 2 "Assimba Democratic Party established in Tigray, border with Eritrea among top agenda". Borkena. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. ↑ Tesfaye, Abel (9 September 2020). "Tigray's election can accelerate the region's democratic reforms". Ethiopia Insight. Retrieved 16 December 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  11. ↑ EUPF (25 October 2014). "Response to articles appearing on Nyamilepedia on 3rd October 2014". Nyamilepedia. Retrieved 17 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  12. ↑ "National Movement of Amhara party officially founded in Bahir Dar". Borkena. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. ↑ "The Birth of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)". Gadaa. 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  14. ↑ እዋናዊ መግለፂ ውድብ ዴሞክራስያዊ ስምረት ትግራይ (ስምረት), Tigray Democratic Solidarity (Simret) Facebook, 28 May 2025, retrieved 13 March 2026
  15. ↑ "የትግራይ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፓርቲ መስራች ጉባኤ መግለጫ" [Tigray Democracy Party ...] (PDF). Tigray Democracy Party (in Tigrinya). 14 December 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  16. ↑ Wiren, Robert (4 April 2005). "Bulcha Demeksa, Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM)". Les nouvelles d'Addis. Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  17. ↑ Monitor, Ethiopian (23 August 2022). "NEBE Rejects Party Registration Request under 'Ethiopian Workers Party'". Ethiopian Monitor. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Ethiopia