On the occasion of the 52nd session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly that started this morning in Cotonou (Benin), Tagesse Chafo, Speaker of the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR), updated his African and European partners on the current situation in Ethiopia.
A fresh air of reform has been blowing in Ethiopia since Dr. Abyi Ahmed came to power in April this year. Recently, additional initiatives were taken to empower women and create a more accommodative political system in Ethiopia.
As part of implementing Goal 5 (Gender equality) of our collective Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Ethiopia has established a gender-balanced cabinet for the first time in history, placing the country in one of the highest places in gender parity in the world. Ethiopia has also elected women as President and head of the federal supreme court.
As part of creating a more accommodative political system in the country, a Ministry of Peace was established to coordinate and oversee activities on nurturing national consensus. Furthermore, a former leader of an opposition party, Ms. Birtukan Mideksa was named to head the Ethiopian National Electoral Board.
As Ethiopia is preparing to hold National and local elections in 2020, discussions between the ruling and the opposition parties are underway. We hope that those multifaceted reform efforts will help to ensure not only Ethiopia’s strive to create a more prosperous society, but also to contribute for the implementation of the third pillar of our joint document “towards the ACP we want.”
In a separate speech, Tagesse Chafo advocated for a strong parliamentary dimension in the post-2020 landscape. The structural problems of the ACP Assembly have to be improved in order to have a strong and reformed ACP Assembly.
