The Ethiopian Election Board has granted License to the Oromo Federalist Congress

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By: Ogato Bariso (OI Reporter)

Two Oromo parties, the Oromo People Congress ( OPC) led by Professor Merera Gudina, and the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) , founded by the renowned Oromo intellectual and statesman Bulcha Demeksa merged to form the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC). Their final merger was delayed due to the legal hurdles created by the electoral body which finally licensed the new party 9 months after their submitted application.

After two years of negotiation and careful deliberation, the members and leaders of the two parties decided to unify their organization, pull together their resources and mobilize their supporters under one umbrella.

It is to be remembered that, for the last four years, the leadership of the two parties were under heavy pressure from students, peasants and bureaucrats to form one party and unify the Oromo opposition. It seems the leaders have heeded to the pressure by merging their organizations. Some political observers suggest that this is sign of solidification of the Oromo forces.

They plan to contest the upcoming election on one platform presenting a single candidate for ever electoral constituency than compete against each other. The two parties already hold a combined 40 seats at the federal parliament and 110 seats at the Oromia regional assembly. According to a western diplomat stationed in Addis Ababa, the new party could defeat the incumbent in landslide if there is free and fair election.

Both parties are among the founding member parties of the newly formed coalition, Forum for Democracy and Dialogue (FDDE), which is considered to be the first truly multinational coalition.

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