ABSTRACT
For the better part of the twentieth century, Ethiopia has known only three political regimes or governments. These are the Imperial regime of Haile Selassie I, which was dethroned by the Derg (a military junta) in 1974; the totalitarian Derg regime, which was overthrown by an insurgent group in 1991; and the present government, headed by a coalition of ethnic-based political parties called the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The latter regime introduced a federal state structure under which legislative and other powers are shared between the Federal Government and nine regional states (FDRE Constitution, 1995). It also instituted a relatively pluralistic political system which was considered more conducive to civil society activities (CRDA, 2006: 8).
