Eighty-eight lawmakers in Ethiopia voted against a state of emergency declared by the Council of Ministers in mid February 2017. The state broadcaster, EBC, said the vote was, however, successful as it was passed by two-thirds of the house. Members of the House of People’s Representatives were summoned earlier this week to debate the state of emergency and ratify it as by law required. MPs from the Oromia bloc (Oromo Peoples Democratic Front – OPDO) of the ruling Ethiopia Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) had been strongly lobbied by activists to vote against the measure. But the AFP correspondent in Ethiopia, Chris Stein, has shared the initial figures as announced by the parliamentary speaker.

Source: Ethiopian News March 02, 2018 13:40 UTC