The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር?; abbreviated EPRDF) is the ruling political coalition in Ethiopia. It is an alliance of four other groups: the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization (OPDO), the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), the South Ethiopian Peoples' Democratic Front (SEPDF) and the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF). Together it had 472 of the 527 seats in the House of People's Representatives following the election held in May 2000. The results of the last legislative elections, 23 May 2010 have not been accepted by all parties. The disagreements led to a prolonged crisis and public unrest which resulted in the death of 193 Ethiopians, including civilians and police officers. The ruling front claimed to have won 499 of the 527 seats. The opposition, which claimed widespread fraud and intimidation, declared that the two major opposition coalitions together would form a majority coalition. Though one of the major opposition parties (Coalition for Unity and Democracy) carried Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa by a landslide, the opposition did not have the strength the EPRDF had in rural Ethiopia.
The EPRDF's two main opponents in the 2005 elections were the Coalition for Unity and Democracy and the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces, both of which are also coalitions of multiple opposition parties. The opposition made spectacular gains in the election which caught all observers, including the contestants themselves, off guard. Early results from the polls showed the opposition on course to sweep to power with a substantial majority. However, the National Election Board which the Prime Minister appoints, stopped the vote tabulation process for several days, leading to a break in the chain of control of ballot boxes. When the counting finally resumed and the ruling coalition declared itself the winner, the opposition cried foul and contested the results.
Read more about Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front: Organization, Political Ideology, History
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