Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

is a

single-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

. This means that only one political party, the

People's Front for Democracy and Justice The People's Front for Democracy and Justice ( ti, ህዝባዊ ግንባር ንደሞክራስን ፍትሕን, PFDJ) is the founding, ruling, and sole legal political party of the State of Eritrea. The successor to the left-wing nationalist ...

(), is legally allowed to exist in the country. Elections only occur to elect representatives for the country's regional assemblies and other posts within the country's districts. There are no national elections in Eritrea.

Other parties

Only the

is legally allowed to operate in Eritrea, though other parties exist outside Eritrea or illegally operate inside Eritrea.

Current parties

Former parties

{, class="wikitable" , + Former parties ! Name !! Native name !! Ideology !! Notes , - ,

Eritrean Democratic Working People's Party The Eritrean Democratic Working People's Party, more commonly referred to as the Labour Party, was a clandestine political party in Eritrea. The party existed between 1968 and 1982, constituting the core of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF). T ...

, , ''hizb alshaeb aleamil aldiymuqratiu al'iirytriu'' , ,

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, , Constituted the core of the ELF , - ,

Eritrean People's Revolutionary Party The Eritrean People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) was a clandestine Marxist-Leninist political party in Eritrea during that country's war of independence. Founded in 1971 and associated with the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, it was chaired by ...

, , alhizb althawriu alshaebiu al'iirytriu , ,

, , Related to the EPLF , - ,

Eritrean People's Liberation Front The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), colloquially known as Shabia, was an armed Marxist–Leninist organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1970 as a far-left to left-wing nationalist group ...

, , ''aljabhat alshaebiat litahrir 'iiritria'' , , {{Nowrap,

Eritrean nationalism Eritrean nationalism is centered on the fact that the Eritreans share a common history, and as such constitute a nation unto themselves. Even though there is a natural basis for Eritrean nationalism, there is still diversity within Eritrean demogr ...

Left-wing nationalism Left-wing nationalism or leftist nationalism, also known as social nationalism, is a form of nationalism based upon national self-determination, popular sovereignty, national self-interest, and left-wing political positions such as social equali ...

Secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...

Socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

Self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

Marxism-Leninism , , Predecessor to the current ruling party , - ,

Independent Moslem League The Independent Moslem League, sometimes referred to as the Independent Moslem League of Massawa, was a political party in Eritrea. It was formed through a split in the Moslem League, founded by Moslem League members from the central and eastern pr ...

, , ''alrrabitat al'iislamiat almustaqila'' , , Eritrean-Ethiopian unionism
Muslim interests , , Muslim minority party , - , Eritrea for Eritreans Party , , ''Ertra n'ertrawian'' , ,

Liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

, , Anti-unionist pre-independence party , - ,

Moslem League of the Western Province The Moslem League of the Western Province was a political party in the Western Province, Eritrea. The party was founded by Sheikh Ali Radai, whose family originally migrated from the Hejaz region in Western Saudi Arabia and later became the Presid ...

, , ''alrrabitat al'iislamiat lilmintaqat algharbia'' , , Eritrean-Ethiopian unionism
Muslim interests , , Muslim minority party , - ,

New Eritrea Party The New Eritrea Party (in Tigrinya language: ''Mahber Hadas Ertra'') was a political party in Eritrea. It was founded, as the New Eritrea Pro-Italy Party, on September 29, 1947 by members of the Eritrea War Veterans Association and the Italo-Eritr ...

, , ''Mahber Hadas Ertra'' , ,

Pro-Italian trusteeship , , Italian-aligned pro-independence party

Other parties

Current parties

Former parties

See also