Ethiopia to elect new president on Monday

October 6, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Speaker of the House of People’s Representatives (HPR), Ambassador Teshome Toga today said the 3rd year office term of the HPR and the House of the Federation would be launched on 8 Oct 2007 with inaugural joint meeting of the two houses.

Ambassador Teshome on the state run television ETV today said ”election of a new president, who would lead Ethiopia for the coming six years, would be carried out during the inaugural meeting on Monday.”

The joint meeting to elect a new Ethiopian president will be aired Live to people, he added.

The speaker said on Saturday that the two houses of the Ethiopian parliament would focus on strengthening the existing peace, democratization process, ensuring good governance, and speeding up economic development across the nation during the current year.

In fact, he said, the priorities of the houses during the current year would be made public in the opening speech of the new president.

”The Ethiopian Millennium celebration has created a common understanding, and, the new millennium is the time when the government and the public decided to work together with a view to make poverty history.” Teshome further said.

According to the speaker, the HPR would play its level best in efforts geared toward building the images of the nation.

The HPR would carry out its activities as per the five-year development strategy of the nation endorsed in 1998 E.C, he said.

Besides endorsing and monitoring of the implementation of bills, the house would also discharge its constitutional duties and responsibilities toward ensuring the interest of the public, he said.

(ST)