Prosperity Party
The Prosperity Party (Amharic: ብልጽግና ፓርቲ; Oromo: Paartii Badhaadhiinaa, PB) is a political party in Ethiopia established on December 1, 2019 as a successor to the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) by incumbent Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The merger into a countrywide party is part of Ahmed's general policy of distancing the country's politics from ethnic federalism, and it will thus run for the first time in the 2021 general election.
Prosperity Party ብልጽግና ፓርቲ Paartii Badhaadhiinaa | |
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| President | Abiy Ahmed |
| Vice-President | Demeke Mekonnen |
| Founded | 1 December 2019 |
| Merger of | ADP ANDP APDO BGPDUF ESPDP GPDM HNL ODP SEPDM |
| Preceded by | EPRDF |
| Headquarters | Addis Ababa |
| Newspaper | New Vision |
| Ideology | Ethiopian nationalism[1] Social liberalism Economic liberalism[2][3] Federalism |
| Political position | Centre[4][5] |
| House of Peoples' Representatives | 512 / 547
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Composition
The Prosperity Party was formed through the merging of three former EPRDF member parties, the Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) and the Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM). The Afar National Democratic Party (ANDP), the Benishangul-Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front (BGPDUF), the Ethiopian Somali People's Democratic Party (ESPDP), the Gambela People's Democratic Movement (GPDM) and the Hareri National League (HNL) were also included in the merger.[6]
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the dominant party in the former EPRDF for 27 years and the only one not to join the new party, were critical of it upon its formation.
Program
The program and by-laws of the party were first approved by the executive committee of the EPRDF. Abiy tweeted:
The unanimous decision passed today to merge the Party is a crucial step in harnessing our energy to work toward a shared vision. Prosperity Party is committed to strengthening & applying a true Federal system which recognizes the diversity and contributions of all Ethiopians.[7]
Symbols
The party's logo consists of two black hands holding three human figures, one blue, one yellow, and one pink, with sun rays shooting outwards from the human figures.
References
- Gedamu, Yohannes. "Why Abiy Ahmed's Prosperity Party is good news for Ethiopia". www.aljazeera.com.
- Yibeltal, Kalkidan. "Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed gets a new ruling party". BBC.
- Gerth-Niculescu, Maria. "Can PM Abiy Ahmed breach Ethiopia's ethnic divide?". Deutsche Welle.
- Habtewold, Melaku (December 24, 2019). "Why Prosperity Party is needed" – via www.ethiopia-insight.com.
- "Who Will Win the Next Ethiopian Elections?". January 10, 2020 – via www.ezega.com.
- Gedamu, Yohannes (13 December 2019). "The new political party of Ethiopia's Abiy holds much promise but faces significant hurdles". Quartz Africa. Quartz. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- "Ethiopia's ruling coalition agrees to form single party ahead of 2020 vote". Reuters. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
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