Ethiopia bids farewell to opposition MPs
July 8th, 2010 in News, Society
APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Ethiopia bade farewell to opposition members of Parliament (MPs) who were in the parliament for the past five years as the opposition scored poorly following the 23 May national elections in the country compared to the 2005 national election.

It could be recalled that, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) won a landslide victory with 545 seats out of the 547 seats in the parliament in the May 2010 elections.

One independent candidate and another candidate from an opposition party won one seat each.

During the past five years, there has been a strong opposition presence in the Ethiopian parliament as they won over 100 seats in the 2005 national election.

The outgoing opposition MPs and members of the House of People’s Representative (lower house) as well as the House of Federation (upper house) have been handed appreciation certificate for their five-year contribution in the parliament.

The farewell ceremony was held on Wednesday evening at the national palace in the presence of Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi and diplomats based in Ethiopia.

The 2005 legislature ended its five years term on Wednesday 7 July.

The new parliament, to be filled with ruling party members, is expected to start its work in October.

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