The Dynamics of Autonomy of Addis Ababa City Government Since 2018: Change and Continuity
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Date
2025-06-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The right to self-government can exist in countries following any system of government. But this right is a very basic issue in countries that follow a federal system. Therefore, a federal system is a system in which regions or autonomous city governments have their own legislative, judiciary, and law enforcement (executive) bodies, relatively independent of the influence of the federal government, and manage their regions or administrative areas. For this, the guarantee of the covenant is their constitution, which they consulted together and agreed upon. This right to self-government in the Ethiopian constitution under Article 39(3) gives this right to self-government to the nation, nationalities, and peoples of Ethiopia. Also Article 49(2) of the Constitution stipulates that the Addis Ababa city administration has full authority to govern itself. Indeed, the Amharic version and the English version of this article are different. The Amharic version grants the power of self-government to the city administration, while the English version grants the power of self-government to the city residents.
The general objective of this research was to critically analyze the self-governing autonomy of the Addis Ababa City Government in the Ethiopian Federation and it has also certain specific objectives. Most of the research objectives were addressed through legal analysis. Accordingly, the research findings are the Ethiopian Constitution provides much lower political rights for the residents of Addis Ababa City than the rights of the people living in regional states that belong to Ethiopia. The residents living in the member regions of the Ethiopian Federal have the right to create their own territories whenever they so want. However, Ethiopian nationals residing in Addis Ababa are not entitled to this privilege, which can be viewed as a demonstration. In addition the Addis Ababa City Administration charter which is issued on the basis of the constitution includes provisions that weaken the autonomy of the city. As an example it stipulates that the Addis Ababa Council and Government can be dissolved by the decision of the Federal Parliament under Articles 17(2) and 61(3), respectively. In addition, Article 61(2) of the charter clearly stipulates that the city government is not independent but part of the federal government.
In general, the right of self-governance of the resident of Addis Ababa has been declared by the constitution, but due to the constitution itself and other laws and political decisions, this right has not been fully implemented. Therefor made Addis Ababa city government an autonomous region is the first task.
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Government in the Ethiopian Federation