The campaign for the May 2010 national election in Ethiopia by the various political parties has started with televised debates.
The various opposition political parties and the ruling party debated on federalism and decentralization in Ethiopia.
The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP), the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), the All Ethiopian National Movement (AENM) and the Berhan for Unity and Democracy (BUD) are the parties that participated in the debate on the theme during the televised election campaign.
The opposition parties which criticized the ruling party’s federalism policy highlighted what they will implement the federalism policy more effectively than the ruling party.
While a majority of the opposition parties vow to implement a better federalism policy than the ruling party, a few the parties said that the federalism system is a threat to the country’s unity.
However, the representative of the ruling party said that the current federalism system, introduced in the country 18 years ago, helps to create unity.
But the opponents of the policy said the current federalism policy in Ethiopia lacks openness and is a threat to national unity.
The parties use the debate to introduce their programs as part of their campaign for the May national election.
Around 55 political parties have been registered to run in the election where around 30 million people are expected to cast their votes.
The on going election campaign will continue in the next few weeks where contesting parties will debate on various political, economic and social affairs.
Source African Press Agency
African News from NetNewsPublisher.com
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