Five political parties operating inside and outside Ethiopia on Thursday merged to form a new party named Hibr Ethiopia Democratic Party.
The merger comes after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed once again called on the over 100 political parties to merge so that the government can finance them properly.
The five parties are Ethiopian National Transition Council, Ethiopian Public Movement, Tusa Ethiopian Renaissance Democratic Organization, Omo People’s Democratic Union, and South Ethiopia Green Stars Coalition.
The merger deal between the parties that have a common cause would help them to come up with other alternatives for the people, it was noted.
Seven Ethiopian opposition parties had merged to form a new national party last week.
The new party was named Ethiopian Citizens Party for Social Justice (ECPSJ).
The seven parties that merged were Patriotic Genbot 7, Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP), All Ethiopian Democratic Party (AEDP), Semayawi Party, New Generation Party (NGP), Gambella Regional Movement (GRM), and Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ).
The newly created party also announced that it elected its leaders.
Dr. Birhanu Nega, formerly leader of Ginbot 7 and a prominent political figure was elected head of the new party.
Andualem Arage, and activist and leader of UDJ was elected deputy leader of the party.
Further Yeshiwas Assefa and Chane Kebede were elected as Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, respectivey.
Ethiopia is set to hold national elections in May next year.
MG/as/APA