Ethiopian opposition CUD finalizes merger process

By Kassahun Addis, The Reporter

Sept 17, 2005 (ADDIS ABABA) — The Ethiopian opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) finalized the merger process of its constituent parties that started a few months earlier.

The four parties have now become one party following a pre-merger phase that took around three months. The merged party will be officially declared on September 24 following a meeting of 400 council members.

The council is supposed to designate the Upper Council and the Executive Committee of the merged party.

The decision of the merging of the four parties of CUD came after each party held separate general assembly meetings with their members in the course of the last four weeks.

One of the four parties, “Rainbow Ethiopia-Movement for Democracy and Social Justice”, had unanimously decided to merge with the other three parties of the Coalition in a resolution adopted at its first assembly held at the Ras Amba Hotel on 21 August. The assembly gave full mandate to its executive committee members to realize the merger. Berhanu Nega, Yacob Hailemariam and Bedru Adem are three members of the executive committee.

The All-Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP), a member of the Coalition, held an Extraordinary General Assembly meetings on August 11 and adopted a five-point resolution. The assembly appreciated the move to unification in CUD and mandated its chairman, Hailu Shawel, and other executive committee members to go faster towards the realization of the process.

The Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party – Medhin (EDUP-Medhin), too, held its General Assembly meeting on August 14 and decided to accelerate the merger process. Ato Lidetu Ayalew and Hailu Araya are two of the leaderships of this party.

The Ethiopian Democratic League (EDL), chaired by Chekol Getahun, is one of the four parties constituting CUD and had already endorsed the merger.

(The Ethiopian Reporter/ST)