View source for Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front

{{short description|1988–2019 Ethiopian ethnic federalist political coalition}}
{{distinguish|Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front
| logo             = File:EPRDFsymbol.PNG
| flag             = 
| logo_size        = 150px
| colorcode        = {{party color|Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front}}
| chairman         = [[Abiy Ahmed]]
| leader1_title    = Deputy Chairman
| leader1_name     = [[Demeke Mekonnen]]
| foundation       = Early 1989
| dissolution      = {{end date|2019|12|1|df=y}}
| successor        = [[Prosperity Party]]
| headquarters     = [[Addis Ababa]]
| newspaper        = ''New Vision''
| youth_wing       = [[EPRDF Youth League]]
| wing1_title      = [[Women's wing]]
| wing1            = EPRDF Women's League
| membership_year  = 2011
| membership       = 6,000,000{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}
| ideology         = {{nowrap|'''After 1991:'''<br>[[Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front#Ideology|Revolutionary democracy]]<br>[[Democratic socialism]]<br>[[Social democracy]]<ref>https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.monde-diplomatique.fr%2F2018%2F11%2FA%2F59208</ref><br>[[Ethnic federalism]]<br>[[Plurinationalism|Poly-ethnic nationalism]]}}<ref>{{Cite conference|conference=International Conference on Development Studies in Ethiopia|url=https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1078&context=africancenter_icad_archive|date=July 11–12, 2003|location=Addis Ababa|first=Alem|last=Habtu|title=Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia: Background, Present Conditions and Future Prospects|s2cid=11477280 }}</ref><br>'''Until 1991:'''<br>[[Marxism–Leninism]]<br/>[[Hoxhaism]]<ref>{{Cite news |title=Warum Ahmed ein guter Preisträger ist – trotz seiner Fehler |language=de |trans-title=Why Ahmed is a good winner - despite his mistakes |url=https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute/friedensnobelpreis-an-abiy-ahmed-rassismus-ist-das-kernproblem-102.html |work=[[ZDF]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227214718/https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute/friedensnobelpreis-an-abiy-ahmed-rassismus-ist-das-kernproblem-102.html |archive-date=27 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Kommentar: Äthiopiens Reformregierung und die Kräfte des ethnischen Nationalismus |language=de |trans-title=Commentary: Ethiopia's reform government and the forces of ethnic nationalism  |url=https://www.dw.com/de/kommentar-%C3%A4thiopiens-reformregierung-und-die-kr%C3%A4fte-des-ethnischen-nationalismus/a-51358079 |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524161821/https://www.dw.com/de/kommentar-%C3%A4thiopiens-reformregierung-und-die-kr%C3%A4fte-des-ethnischen-nationalismus/a-51358079 |archive-date=24 May 2021}}</ref>
| position         = '''After 1991:'''<br>[[Centre-left]] to [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]]<br>'''Until 1991:'''<br>[[Far-left politics|Far-left]]
| colours          = {{color box|{{party color|Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front}}|border=darkgray}} [[Red]]
| website          = {{url|eprdf.org.et}}
| country          = Ethiopia
| footnotes        = 
}}
{{Contains special characters|Ethiopic}}
{{Infobox war faction
| name             = Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front
| war              = [[Oromo conflict]], [[Ethiopian Civil War]], [[Eritrean–Ethiopian War]]
| image            = Emblem of Ethiopia.svg
| caption          = 
| active           = 1989–2019
| ideology         = [[Ethnic federalism]]
| leaders          = * {{flagicon image|Flag of the Tigray Region.svg}} [[Tigrayan People's Liberation Front|TPLF]] (1989–2018)
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization.png}} [[Oromo Democratic Party|ODP]] (2018–2019)
| headquarters     = Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| area             = 
| allies           = * {{flagicon image|Flag of the Tigray Region.svg}} [[Tigrayan People's Liberation Front|TPLF]] (1989 – {{Circa|2019}})
* [[Amhara Democratic Party|ANDM]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization.png}} [[Oromo Democratic Party|ODP]]
* [[Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement|SEPDM]]
* [[Afar National Democratic Party|ANDP]]
* [[Hareri National League|HNL]]
* [[Gambela People's Democratic Movement|GPDM]]
* [[Ethiopian Somali People's Democratic Party|ESPDP]]
* [[Benishangul-Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front|BGPDUF]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the EPLF.svg}} [[Eritrean People's Liberation Front|EPLF]] (1989–1991)
* {{flag|Eritrea}} (1991–1998)
| opponents        = * {{flagdeco|Ethiopia|1987}} [[People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia|PDRE]] (1989–91)
* {{flag|Eritrea}} (1998–2018)
| image_alt        = 
| status           = Dissolved. Its ideology still permeates Ethiopian politics.
}}

The '''Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front''' ('''EPRDF'''; {{langx|am|የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር|translit=Ye’Ītiyop’iya Ḥizibochi Ābiyotawī Dīmokirasīyawī Ginibari}}) was an [[Ethnic federalism|ethnic federalist]]<ref name=":0" /> [[political coalition]] in [[Ethiopia]] that existed from 1989 to 2019. It consisted of four political parties: [[Tigray People's Liberation Front]] (TPLF), [[Amhara Democratic Party]] (ADP), [[Oromo Democratic Party]] (ODP) and [[Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement]] (SEPDM).<ref name=":0" /> After leading the overthrow of the [[People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia]], it [[dominant-party state|dominated]] Ethiopian politics from 1991 to 2019. In November 2019, the EPRDF was dissolved, and Prime Minister and EPDRF chairman [[Abiy Ahmed]] merged three of the constituent parties (not including the TPLF) into his new [[Prosperity Party]],<ref>[https://addisstandard.com/exclusive-third-day-eprdf-ec-discussing-prosperity-party-regulation-find-the-draft-copy-obtained-by-as/ Exclusive: Third day EPRDF EC discussing "Prosperity Party" Regulation. Find the draft copy obtained by AS]</ref> which was officially founded on 1 December 2019.

== History ==
During the [[Ethiopian Civil War]], the EPRDF was a rebel group battling the [[Derg]], a military regime led by [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] that was effectively in power from 1974 until it was replaced by the [[People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia]] in 1987. During this period, the Derg was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of opponents without trial in the [[Qey Shibir]] and the [[1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia]] resulting in 400,000 deaths.<ref>{{Cite book |last=de Waal |first=Alex |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwZ1Xb-w45oC |title=Famine Crimes: Politics & the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa |publisher=[[James Currey]] |year=1997 |isbn=0-85255-810-4 |location=[[Oxford]]}}</ref>

The EPRDF was formed by the union of the TPLF and the [[Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement]] (EPDM) in early-1989. They were later joined by the [[Oromo People's Democratic Organization|OPDO]] (the Oromo members of the TPLF, EPLF, and EPDM) and the Ethiopian Democratic Officers' Revolutionary Movement (a small body of Derg officers captured by TPLF, most notably at [[Shire, Ethiopia|Shire]] in February 1989, which was later disbanded after the establishment of the [[Transitional Government of Ethiopia]]).<ref name=":0">{{cite thesis |last=Vaughan |first=Sarah |date=2003 |url=http://www.ihasa.org/documents/special-reports/ethnicity-in-ethiopia.pdf |title=Ethnicity and Power in Ethiopia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813043308/http://www.ihasa.org/documents/special-reports/ethnicity-in-ethiopia.pdf |archive-date=13 August 2011 |url-status=dead |publisher=[[University of Edinburgh]] |type=Ph.D. |page=168 }}</ref>

Following the [[Ethiopian Civil War#1990s|collapse]] of the [[People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia]] in the early 1990s, the EPRDF gained support from the [[United States]]. Michael Johns, an Africa expert with [[The Heritage Foundation]], wrote in 1991 that "there are some modestly encouraging signs that the front intends to abandon Mengistu's autocratic practices".<ref>Johns, Michael (August 1991). [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r102:E06MY2-393: "Does Democracy Have a Chance?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823083654/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r102:E06MY2-393: |date=23 August 2013 }}. ''[[The World and I]]'', in: ''[[The Congressional Record]]'' (6 May 1992).</ref>

=== Leadership ===
* [[Meles Zenawi|Meles Legesse Zenawi Asres]] (8 May 1988 – 20 August 2012)
* [[Hailemariam Desalegn|Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe]] (16 September 2012 – 27 March 2018)
* [[Abiy Ahmed|Abiy Ahmed Ali]] (27 March 2018 – 1 December 2019)

== Organization ==
The EPRDF was an alliance of four political parties: 
* [[Oromo Democratic Party]] (ODP), which is based in the [[Oromia Region]] (formerly known as OPDO)
* [[Amhara Democratic Party]] (ADP) based in the [[Amhara Region]] (formerly known as ANDM)
* [[Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement]] (SEPDM) based in the [[Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region]]
* [[Tigray People's Liberation Front]] (TPLF) based in the [[Tigray Region]]

The EPRDF was led by a Council as well as an executive committee, whose members were selected every three years by a congress of the party. The four member parties had the same organizational structure. Government and party structures were closely intertwined.<ref name="FES">[http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/03293.pdf ''Parteien in Äthiopien: Zwischen ethnischer Orientierung und Programmausrichtung''] (PDF). [[Friedrich Ebert Foundation]].</ref>

The other five [[regions of Ethiopia]] were governed by parties which were either created or heavily influenced by the EPRDF.<ref name="HIST">{{Cite journal |last=Chanie |first=Paulos |date=2007 |title=Clientelism and Ethiopia's post-1991 decentralisation |journal=[[The Journal of Modern African Studies]] |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=355–384 |doi=10.1017/S0022278X07002662 |s2cid=154750210}}</ref> One of the earliest was the Afar People's Democratic Organization in the [[Afar Region]], which subsequently merged with other [[Afar people|Afar]] political groups to create the [[Afar National Democratic Party]] (ANDP).<ref>Yasin, Yasin Mohammed (2008). [http://www.giga-hamburg.de/openaccess/afrikaspectrum/2008_1/giga_as_2008_1_yasin.pdf "Political history of the Afar in Ethiopia and Eritrea"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301024955/http://www.giga-hamburg.de/openaccess/afrikaspectrum/2008_1/giga_as_2008_1_yasin.pdf |date=1 March 2012 }} (PDF). ''[[African Affairs]]'', in: ''[[Africa Spectrum]]''. '''42''' (1): p. 39–65.</ref> These were the five regional parties:<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Aalen |first=Lovise |date=2006 |title=Ethnic Federalism and Self-Determination for Nationalities in a Semi-Authoritarian State: the Case of Ethiopia |journal=International Journal on Minority and Group Rights |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=243–261 |doi=10.1163/157181106777909849}}</ref>
* [[Afar National Democratic Party]] (ANDP) in [[Afar Region]]
* [[Argoba People's Democratic Organization]] (APDO) for the [[Argobba people]]
* [[Hareri National League]] (HNL) in [[Harari Region]]
* [[Gambela People's Democratic Movement]] (GPDM) in [[Gambela Region]]
* [[Ethiopian Somali People's Democratic Party]] (ESPDP) in [[Somali Region]]
* [[Benishangul-Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front]] (BGPDUF) in [[Benishangul-Gumuz Region]]

==Ideology==
===Revolutionary democracy===
Revolutionary democracy replaced [[Marxism–Leninism]] as the EPRDF's official ideology in the early 1990s, not because the front had lost their belief in [[Marxism]], but rather because of the international situation (the [[Soviet Union]] was [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolved in 1991]]).{{sfn|Vestal|1999|pp=63–64}} The main message of Revolutionary Democracy, similar to that found in Marxist–Leninist thought, is that a [[Vanguardism|vanguard party]] should rule because it represents the people and has "supposedly superior knowledge of the nature of social development conferred on them by the EPRDF ideology."{{sfn|Vestal|1999|p=64}} Similar to Marxism–Leninism, the EPRDF prefers to categorize society into classes such as the [[peasantry]], the [[bourgeoisie]], the [[proletariat]] and the [[Comprador|comprador bourgeoisie]] and considers its main adversary to be [[imperialism]], that is [[free market]] [[capitalism|capitalist states]].{{sfn|Vestal|1999|p=64}}

The peasantry are considered the main class in Ethiopia, since they form a majority of the population, and they are considered the pillar of Revolutionary Democracy.{{sfn|Vestal|1999|p=73}} Upon seizing power, the front was suspicious of the [[petite bourgeoisie]] class, believing that they were naturally inclined to oppose the front's policies.{{sfn|Vestal|1999|p=74}} Despite this, the front believed it could win over the petite bourgeoisie through economic incentives and successful policy.{{sfn|Vestal|1999|p=74}} Importantly, if members of the petite bourgeoisie class oppose the EPRDF, the front will "empty their 'belly and pocket'".{{sfn|Vestal|1999|p=75}} The [[proletariat|urban proletariat]] are in contrast naturally inclined towards the EPRDF, and the EPRDF seeks to recruit members of these class so as to strengthen the front's organizational links with the [[trade union]]s.{{sfn|Vestal|1999|p=75}} The EPRDF asserts that the "local investor", that is, the capitalist, will naturally be hostile towards the front and its policies, and the front should therefore try to persuade this class to become neutral.{{sfn|Vestal|1999|p=75}} Religious organizations are deemed [[reactionary]] by the EPRDF.{{sfn|Vestal|1999|p=77}}

Some people state that the EPRDF has not espoused a well-defined unified ideology or political philosophy. Its members held a variety of positions that could be broadly defined as being to the left of the opposition parties.<ref name=":0" /> The EPRDF traditionally identified itself with a number of general goals, namely rapid export-based economic growth; [[Ethiopia–United States relations|close cooperation]] with the [[United States]] in foreign and defense policies; [[China-Ethiopia relations|close cooperation]] with [[China]] on economic and trade policies: and several newer issues, such as administrative reform. Administrative reform encompassed several themes, namely simplification and streamlining of [[Government of Ethiopia|government bureaucracy]]; [[privatization]] of [[state-owned enterprise]]s; and adoption of measures, including [[tax reform]], in preparation for the expected strain on the [[Economy of Ethiopia|economy]] posed by a [[Demographics of Ethiopia#Population|rapidly growing population]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |url=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/23333/Ethiopia0s0gre0n0and0how0to0pace0it.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |title=Ethiopia's Great Run: The Growth Acceleration and How to Pace It |publisher=[[World Bank]] |year=2015}}</ref> Other priorities in the early 1990s included the promotion of a more active and positive role for Ethiopia following the [[Ethiopian Civil War#Conclusion|collapse]] of the [[People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia]], the [[internationalization]] of Ethiopia's economy by the [[Economic liberalization|liberalization]] and promotion of domestic demand (expected to lead to the [[industrialization]]) and the promotion of [[Education in Ethiopia|education]].<ref name=":1" /> A business-inspired commitment to [[free enterprise]] was tempered by the insistence of [[protectionism]] and [[tariff]]s.

====Relation to liberalism====
The EPRDF opposes [[liberal democracy]], and [[liberalism]] in general.<ref name="ORD">{{Cite web |last=Melakedingel, Nolawi |date=10 May 2013 |title=The Oddities of 'Revolutionary Democracy' |url=http://addisstandard.com/the-oddities-of-revolutionary-democracy/ |website=Addis Standard |accessdate=1 July 2014}}</ref> Despite this, Revolutionary Democracy can be considered a mixture of communist and liberal thought.<ref name="ORD" /> The front views liberal democracy and free market capitalism as decadent, and has a "romantic attachment" to the beliefs of [[Vladimir Lenin]], who condemned liberal democracy as the [[Liberal democracy#Dictatorship of the bourgeoisie|dictatorship of the bourgeoisie]] (literally the dictatorship of the upper class) while supporting Lenin's assertion of the need for a vanguard party which practices [[democratic centralism]].<ref name="ORD" /> It considers liberal democracy to be "ill-fit and unsustainable", but ironically much of the front's economic policies are based on the tacit acknowledgement of the need of some liberalism in the economic field.<ref name="ORD" />

====Relation to communism====
With the majority of EPRDF's top leaders being former members of the [[Marxist–Leninist League of Tigray]], a [[Hoxhaism|Hoxhaist]] organization led by among others [[Meles Zenawi]], [[Marxism|Marxist ideology]] still plays a prominent role in party discourse, with some even claiming that the front is hiding their ideology.{{sfn|Vestal|1999|pp=79–80 & 93}} Theodore M. Vestal claims that the front based its ideology on Marxist–Leninist [[Revisionism (Marxism)|revisionism]], believing it explains the regime's authoritarian nature.{{sfn|Vestal|1999|p=116}} Of the communists traits in Revolutionary Democracy, most of them have been borrowed from [[Mao Zedong Thought]], an ideology conceived by Chinese leader [[Mao Zedong]].<ref name="ORD" />

== Election results ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Election
!Leader
!No. of candidates
!No. of seats won
!No. of Constituency votes
!% of Constituency vote
!Government/Opposition
|-style="text-align:center;"
![[Ethiopian general election, 1995|1995]]
|[[Meles Zenawi]]
|1,881
|{{composition bar|471|500|hex={{party color|Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front}}}}
|16,429,727
|82.9%
|{{yes|Government}}
|-style="text-align:center;"
![[Ethiopian general election, 2000|2000]]
|[[Meles Zenawi]]
|
|{{composition bar|472|527|hex={{party color|Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front}}}}
|
|
|{{yes|Government}}
|-style="text-align:center;"
![[Ethiopian general election, 2005|2005]]
|[[Meles Zenawi]]
|
|{{composition bar|327|527|hex={{party color|Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front}}}}
|12,237,655
|59.8%
|{{yes|Government}}
|-style="text-align:center;"
![[Ethiopian general election, 2010|2010]]
|[[Meles Zenawi]]
|1,349
|{{composition bar|499|547|hex={{party color|Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front}}}}
|
|
|{{yes|Government}}
|-style="text-align:center;"
![[Ethiopian general election, 2015|2015]]
|[[Hailemariam Desalegn|Hailemariam Desalign]]
|1,851
|{{composition bar|500|547|hex={{party color|Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front}}}}
|26,403,177
|
|{{yes|Government}}
|}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}

== References ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Vestal, Theodore |title=Ethiopia: A Post-Cold War African State |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group|Praeger Publishers]] |year=1999 |isbn=0275966100 |edition=1st |ref=CITEREFVestal1999}}
{{refend}}
{{Ethiopian political parties}}{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front| ]]
[[Category:1989 establishments in Ethiopia]]