General elections were held in Ethiopia between 1 and 30 September 1957, to elect 210 members of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Ethiopian parliament (members of the upper house, the Senate, were appointed by the Emperor).[1] These elections followed the new constitution which had been enacted by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1955, and were the first ever held in that ancient country.
Electoral systemedit
The regulations for this election were set forth in Proclamation 152 of 1952. This law set up a Central Election Board of three members, which worked with the help of the Ethiopian Ministry of Interior.[2] Each rural constituency of 200,000 eligible voters elected two members for the Chamber.[1] Political parties were not authorized at this time, so competition for office were "reduced to the level of individual competition," according to Bahru Zewdu. "Given the attractive salary of deputies as well as the social status enjoyed by them, that competition was understandably keen. Parliament thus became a vehicle for self-promotion rather than a forum of popular representation."[3]
Universal suffrage was introduced for everyone born in Ethiopia and over 21 in age. The prospective voter was required to have lived in their electoral district for at least one year, not be disqualified by insanity, loss of civil rights pursuant to the penal code law, or be incarcerated.[2] Candidates had to meet specific property qualifications. According to Edmond Keller, "A candidate had to own at least E$ 850 in land in the constituency he proposed to represent, or he had to possess at least E$ 1,700 in moveable property." Along with the relatively expensive cost of campaigning greatly restricted the number of people who could run for office. As a result, a disproportionate number of candidates were from aristocratic families—26%, according to Edmond Keller.[1]
1957, ethiopian, general, election, general, elections, were, held, ethiopia, between, september, 1957, elect, members, chamber, deputies, lower, house, ethiopian, parliament, members, upper, house, senate, were, appointed, emperor, these, elections, followed,. General elections were held in Ethiopia between 1 and 30 September 1957 to elect 210 members of the Chamber of Deputies the lower house of the Ethiopian parliament members of the upper house the Senate were appointed by the Emperor 1 These elections followed the new constitution which had been enacted by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1955 and were the first ever held in that ancient country Electoral system editThe regulations for this election were set forth in Proclamation 152 of 1952 This law set up a Central Election Board of three members which worked with the help of the Ethiopian Ministry of Interior 2 Each rural constituency of 200 000 eligible voters elected two members for the Chamber 1 Political parties were not authorized at this time so competition for office were reduced to the level of individual competition according to Bahru Zewdu Given the attractive salary of deputies as well as the social status enjoyed by them that competition was understandably keen Parliament thus became a vehicle for self promotion rather than a forum of popular representation 3 Universal suffrage was introduced for everyone born in Ethiopia and over 21 in age The prospective voter was required to have lived in their electoral district for at least one year not be disqualified by insanity loss of civil rights pursuant to the penal code law or be incarcerated 2 Candidates had to meet specific property qualifications According to Edmond Keller A candidate had to own at least E 850 in land in the constituency he proposed to represent or he had to possess at least E 1 700 in moveable property Along with the relatively expensive cost of campaigning greatly restricted the number of people who could run for office As a result a disproportionate number of candidates were from aristocratic families 26 according to Edmond Keller 1 Province ConstituenciesWollo 12Shoa 11Gojjam 10Eritrea 7Wollega 6Tigray 5Addis Ababa 7Illubabor 2Kaffa 4Arussi 4Begemder 6Gamu Gofa 10Hararge 11Source Ethiopia Observer 4 References edit a b c Keller Edmond J Revolutionary Ethiopia From Empire to People s Republic Bloomington Indiana University Press 1988 p 87 a b Bereket Habte Selassie Constitutional Development in Ethiopia Journal of African Law 10 1966 p 82 Bahru Zewde A History of Modern Ethiopia second ed Oxford James Currey 2001 p 207 Electoral Arrangements Ethiopia Observer Vol 1 no 7 August 1957 External links edit Ethiopia The Day of Fulfillment Time magazine published 11 November 1957 nbsp nbsp This Ethiopian elections related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1957 Ethiopian general election amp oldid 1134249714, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
