ERITREAN GOVERNMENT
Eritreas president is a One
Man Show
by Amanda Orduno-Frank
PRESIDENT ISAIAS AFWERKI THE ONE-MAN SHOW
Background: Eritrea is a country
which has been in turmoil for over two
thousand years. Originally part of the
first Ethiopian kingdom until the 8th
century, Eritrea has been ruled by the
Ottoman Empire, Egyptians, Italy,
Britain, and again back to Ethiopia,
and returned to its native Eritrians in
1993. Its strategic location on the Red
Sea, fertile agricultural lands, and
ease of transport for trade, have
enticed countries to invade, and
attempt take-overs.
The Government of Eritrea:
The government in Eritrea is considered
to be a presidential republic. A
"presidential republic" is a term used to
describe countries where the president
is a figure actively involved in the
governance of the country. Like the
United States, Eritreas president has
significant powers under their
constitution. Theoretically the
government of Eritrea has committed
publicly to being a democratic country,
however, since President Isaias Afworki
took office in 1993 all, all other elections
have been indefinitely postponed.
Constitution:
Eritrea choose to adopt a constitution in
1997 which was never fully
implemented; Eritrea began drafting of
a new constitution in 2014, and has not
been completed yet.
Legal system:
Eritrea has a mixed legal system of
civil, customary, and Islamic religious
law.
Executive branch:
President Isaias Afworki has been the
head of the government since 1993.
He holds multiple positions in the
government including:
Chief of State, Head of government,
Head of the State Council, Head of
the National Assembly
Legislative branch:
The Legislative branch consists of a
unicameral National Assembly or
Hagerawi Baito containing 150 seats;
75 members indirectly elected
by the ruling party
75 directly elected by simple
majority vote.
In 1997 however, Eritreans formed a
Transitional National Assembly to
serve as the country's legislative body
until countrywide elections to form a
National Assembly were held. All
members of the National Assembly
should be elected by secret ballot of
all eligible voters; however, all
elections have been postponed
indefinitely (due to the war with
Ethiopia.)
Issue #1
Judicial branch:
The High Courts which consist of 20
judges and organized into civil,
commercial, criminal, labor,
administrative, and customary
sections are all appointed by the
president.
Subordinate courts consisting
of regional/zonal courts; community
courts; special courts; sharia courts
(for issues dealing with Muslim
marriage, inheritance, and family);
military courts are also part of the
Judicial branch.
Political parties and leaders:
The National Assembly committee
drafted a law on political parties in
January 2001, but the full National
Assembly never debated or voted on
it. Therefore, there is only one party,
The People's Front for Democracy
and Justice or PFDJ. The only political
leader is President Afworki.
References
Bula, M. Y. (2016, September 13). Eritrea is building 'its
own type of political system'. Retrieved from
Deutsche Welle:
http://www.dw.com/en/eritrea-is-building-its-
own-type-of-political-system/a-19547256
Eritrea Government. (2017, February 22). Retrieved from
Theodora.com:
http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/eritrea/e
ritrea_government.html
Tzehaie, H. v. (2017). Political Structure in Eritrea.
Retrieved from Eritrea.be:
http://www.eritrea.be/old/eritrea-
government.htm