The Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement om, Warraaqsa Federaalistii Uummata Oromoo, OFDM) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, created in 2005 by Bulcha Demeksa to further the interests of the Oromo people as an alternative to the armed Oromo Liberation Front. In the 15 May 2005 federal election, the party won 11 seats, all from the

Oromia Region Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benis ...

. In March 2006, the party Whip was Mesfin Nemera Deriesa from the West Wallaga Zone. The OFDM merged with the

Oromo People's Congress The Oromo People's Congress (OPC) was a federalist and Oromo nationalist opposition political party in Ethiopia. It was founded in April 1996 as the Oromo National Congress by Dr. Merera Gudina, who is its chairman. However, the party licence a ...

(OPC), forming the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), in 2012.

Creation

The Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement was created as a non-armed political movement in early 2005 as an alternative to the armed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) by Bulcha Demeksa. Bulcha described the refusal to use guns to obtain political change as the major and fundamental difference between the OFDM and the OLF, stating that the OFDM intended to work within the existing

1995 Constitution of Ethiopia The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (), also known as the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, is the supreme law of Ethiopia. The constitution came into force on 21 August 1995 after it was drawn up by the Constituent Asse ...

, of which "many chapters" were acceptable to the OFDM. Bulcha stated that a consensus between Amharas, Oromos and Tigres would be needed for Ethiopia to have a "peaceful federal structure".

2005 regional election

In the August 2005 Regional assembly elections, the party won 10 out of 537 seats in the

2008

Bulcha Demeksa, announced in mid-April that his party would boycott the second round of voting in the 2008 Ethiopian local elections, joining a number of other opposition parties. Despite this, the OFDM picked up one seat in the 116 towns which held elections for their administrative councils. In June 2008, the OFDM accused the Ethiopian government of ignoring the ethnic conflict in western Ethiopia which allegedly killed 400 Oromos. The OFDM called it a massacre and blamed the government as being at least "an accomplice." At the beginning of July 2008, the OFDM joined forces with other Ethiopian opposition groups to form Medrek, formally known as the ''Forum for Democratic Dialogue''. Other members of Medrek include the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces led by Beyene Petros,

Arena Tigray Arena Tigray or Arena Tigray For Democracy and Sovereignty ( ti, ዓረና ትግራይ ንዲሞክራሲን ንሉኣላዊነትን) is an Ethiopian political party based in the Tigray Region and participating in the Medrek coalition federall ...

(the ''Union of Tigrians for Democracy and Sovereignty'', led by Gebru Asrat), former president Negasso Gidada, and former Minister of Defense Siye Abraha.

2009

OFDM Secretary General Bekele Jirata was arrested 13 January 2009, along with at least 14 other ethnic Oromo for alleged ties to the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front and a previously unknown armed group, ''Kawerj'', connections which were denied by the OFDM. He was released 4 February 2009 on bail. No date has been set for his trial."OFDM leader Bekele Jirata released on bail"
, ''Jimma Times'' 4 February 2009 (accessed 9 March 2009) Bekele Gerba joined OFDM in 2009, becoming a member of the executive committee and head of public relations.

2012

The OFDM merged with the

(OPC), forming the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), in 2012.

References

{{Authority control 2005 establishments in Ethiopia 2012 disestablishments in Ethiopia Defunct political parties in Ethiopia Federalist parties in Ethiopia Political parties disestablished in 2012 Political parties established in 2005