The Oromo People's Congress (OPC) was a federalist and Oromo

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

opposition political party in

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 ...

. It was founded in April 1996 as the Oromo National Congress by Dr.

Merera Gudina Merera Gudina ( Oromo: Mararaa Guddinaa) (born 5 July 1956) is an Ethiopian professor and politician. He is the leader of the Oromo People's Congress (OPC), a political party representing the Oromo people. The organization is opposed to the previ ...

, who is its chairman. However, the party licence and name were allegedly given to a marginal splinter group by the

National Election Board of Ethiopia The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) () is an autonomous federal government agency which supervises the national elections of Ethiopia. The NEBE was established by Proclamation number 64/1992, and answers to the House of Peoples' R ...

in order to undermine the party and create confusion among the voters after the May 2005 election, so the party was forced to change its name to Oromo People's Congress prior to the 2008 by-elections. OPC merged with Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, forming the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), in 2012.

2005 election results

Until the 2005 Ethiopian general elections the OPC had not attempted to build a permanent base of support outside its leader’s home region in Ambo

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''. These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...

. In that election, as the Oromo National Congress the party was part of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces, that won 52 out of 527 seats in the

Council of People's Representatives The House of Peoples' Representatives is the lower house of the Ethiopian Federal Parliamentary Assembly. Located in the capital Addis Ababa, the House has 547 members. All are elected in theory for five-year term in single-seat constituencies. T ...

; the party won 42 seats in the

Federal Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-gen ...

and 135 seats in the

Oromia 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 Be ...

regional parliament in its own name.

2007–2009

*The leadership of OPC was one of the founding members of the Forum for Democratic Dialogue (FDD). The creation of the Forum was agreed upon on June 17, 2007. *OPC formed a coalition with the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement in January 2009, according to a press release issued by both parties. *The OPC issued a press release on 5 March 2009 claiming that the ruling

Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF; am, የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር, translit=Ye’Ītiyop’iya Ḥizibochi Ābiyotawī Dīmokirasīyawī Ginibari) was an eth ...

party committed three separate acts of harassment against its members during the prior weeks. These included a February incident where two teachers in Midakaegn woreda were severely beaten by the local police and woreda officials, and security personnel on 4 March surrounding the high school in

Gedo Gedo ( so, Gedo, Maay Maay, Maay: ''Gethy'', ar, جيذو, it, Ghedo or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region (''States and regions of Somalia, gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. It was created in ...

then shooting at the students and wounding at least three (one died later in the hospital)."EPRDF is still shooting to rule"
, OPC website (accessed 17 March 2009)

2012

The OPC merged with the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), forming the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), in 2012.

References

{{Ethiopia political parties 1996 establishments in Ethiopia 2012 disestablishments in Ethiopia Defunct political parties in Ethiopia Federalist parties in Ethiopia Nationalist parties in Africa Political parties disestablished in 2012 Political parties established in 1996