The Somali Democratic Party (SDP; so, Xisbiga Dimuqraadiga Soomaalida), formerly the Ethiopian Somali People's Democratic Party, 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 political ideology ...

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 by 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 ...

(EPRDF) after refusing Somali demands for self-determination in 1993. The EPRDF created a surrogate party called the

Ethiopian Somali Democratic League The Ethiopian Somali Democratic League (ESDL) was a political party in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. It was the ruling EPRDF's regional partner from 1994 to 1998. Overview The ESDL was formed in 1994 through the merger of ten clan-based politi ...

which was one of many satellite organisations existing throughout Ethiopia."Ethnic Federalism and the Somali Region under the EPRDF"
in ''Ethiopia: Army Commits Executions, Torture, and Rape in Ogaden'', published 11 June 2008

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

(last accessed 10 December 2008) The organisation was led by Ahmed Shide.

History

Like the ESDL before it, the Somali Democratic Party was considered by many inhabitants of the

Somali Region The Somali Region ( so, Deegaanka Soomaalida, am, ሱማሌ ክልል, Sumalē Kilil, ar, المنطقة الصومالية), also known as Soomaali Galbeed (''Western Somalia'') and officially the Somali Regional State, is a regional state ...

to be an "EPRDF puppet", who accused its members "of brutal repression and systematic massacres in ensuring the region stays under firm control". The party observed its eleventh anniversary of its founding in

Filtu Filtu is the capital city of '"Liben Zone"' Filtu(also known as Gindiyeer) is a town in southern Ethiopia. Located in the Liben Zone of the Somali Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 3,150 meters above sea level. It i ...

, where numerous improvements to the infrastructure of the

Liben Zone Liben may refer to: * Liben, East Shewa, Oromia, a woreda in Ethiopia *Liben, Guji, Oromia, a woreda in Ethiopia * Liben Zone in the Somali Region of Ethiopia ** Liben, Somali, a woreda in the Liben Zone *Libeň, Cadastral area and district of Pra ...

were announced. In December 2019, the party merged with the

Afar National Democratic Party The Afar National Democratic Party ( am, የአፋር ብሔራዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፓርቲ; ANDP) was a political party in Ethiopia. At the legislative elections held on 15 May 2005, the party won 8 seats, all from the Afar Region. The c ...

(ANDP), the

Amhara Democratic Party The Amhara Democratic Party (ADP) ( am, አማራ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፓርቲ), originally known as Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), was a political party in Ethiopia. The party was one of four members of the Ethiopian People's R ...

(ADP), the

Benishangul-Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front The Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front (BGPDUF; am, የቤንሻንጉልና ጉሙዝ ሕዝቦች ዴሞክራሲዊ አንድነት) was a political party in Ethiopia. In the 2010 elections, the BGPDUF won 9 seats. In local ele ...

(BGPDUF), the

Gambela People's Democratic Movement The Gambela Peoples’ Democratic Movement (GPDM, am, የጋምቤላ ሕዝቦች ዴሞክራሲያዊ ንቅናቄ, translit=Yä-Gambella Həzbočč Demokrasiyawi Nəqnaqe), also known as the Gambela People’s Democratic Movement or Gambella ...

(GPDM), the Hareri National League (HNL), the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) and the Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM) to form the new

Prosperity Party The Prosperity Party ( am, ብልጽግና ፓርቲ, Bilits’igina Paritī; om, Paartii Badhaadhiinaa) is a political party in Ethiopia that was established on 1 December 2019 as a successor to the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic F ...

Notes

{{Ethiopian political parties 1998 establishments in Ethiopia 2019 disestablishments in Ethiopia Defunct political parties in Ethiopia Defunct socialist parties Democratic socialist parties in Africa Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front Political parties disestablished in 2019 Political parties established in 1998 Socialist parties in Ethiopia