Ethiopian opposition political parties in the post-1991 political structure

This study analyzes the weakness of legally registered opposition political parties in post-1991 political order of Ethiopia. To analyze this state of affairs, the authors adopt a structural approach. Two major questions should be addressed in this regard. First, what factors affect operations of opposition parties? Second, why have the opposition political parties have been weakened? The paper argues that the weak nature of opposition political parties in Ethiopia has to do with the existing internal and external contexts in which the opposition political parties are currently operating. Scrutinized from this perspective, the current status of opposition parties arises from the manner in which multiparty politics is organized and governed. We view the current status of opposition political parties in Ethiopia arising primarily from the political environment or context in which these extra-constitutional actors operate or find themselves in. At the center of these contexts is the incumbent government. The research argues that weak status of opposition political parties has been caused to a large extent by the internal and external contexts. This study concludes that the vitality of Ethiopian opposition parties is limited structurally and their weak status is perpetuating for a long period in time.