The Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization (OPDO) is an ethnic-based political party in Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

, and part of the alliance with the Amhara National Democratic Movement

Amhara National Democratic Movement

The Amhara National Democratic Movement is a political party in Ethiopia.At the last legislative elections, 15 May 2005, the party was part of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, that won 327 out of 527 seats...

, the South Ethiopian Peoples' Democratic Front and the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front that forms the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front

Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front

The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front is the ruling political coalition in Ethiopia. It is an alliance of four other groups: the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization , the Amhara National Democratic Movement , the South Ethiopian Peoples' Democratic Front The Ethiopian People's...

 (EPRDF). At the last legislative elections

Ethiopian general elections, 2005

Ethiopia held general elections on May 15, 2005, for seats in both its national and in four regional government councils. Under pressure from the international community, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi promised that this election would be proof that more democracy would come in this multi-ethnic...

, 15 May 2005, the party was part of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front

Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front

The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front is the ruling political coalition in Ethiopia. It is an alliance of four other groups: the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization , the Amhara National Democratic Movement , the South Ethiopian Peoples' Democratic Front The Ethiopian People's...

, that won 327 out of 527 seats.

In the August 2005 Regional assembly elections, the party won 387 out of 537 seats in the Oromia Region

Oromia Region

Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...

, and 14 out of 36 seats in the Harari Region

Harari Region

Harari or officially, Harari People's National Regional State is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, covering the homeland of the Harari people...

.

History

The OPDO was created in late 1989 by the EPRDF after they grew dissatisfied with their relations to the existing Oromo Liberation Front

Oromo Liberation Front

The Oromo Liberation Front , or OLF, is an organization established in 1973 by Oromo nationalists to promote self-determination for the Oromo people against what they call "Abyssinian colonial rule". It has been outlawed and labeled as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government...

 against the Derg

Derg

The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...

 regime. At first a weak organization, according to Paul B. Henze, the OPDO attracted defectors from Derg military units and gained supporters when in 1991 the EPRDF occupied parts of the provinces of Wollo

Wollo

Wollo was a historical region and province in the northeastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Dessie. The province was named after the Wollo Oromo, who settled in this part of Ethiopia in the 17th century...

 and Shewa

Shewa

Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...

 which had significant Oromo

Oromo people

The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...

 majorities.

In 2001, the OPDO was rocked by a series of corruption scandals, which led to the ouster of then secretary general Kuma Demeksa

Kuma Demeksa

Kuma Demeksa is an Ethiopian politician. Since 30 October 2008 he has been mayor of Addis Ababa; previous positions include President of the Oromia Region , and Minister of Defense...

 on charges of corruption, "anti-democratic practices", abuse of power and nepotism. Major-General Abadula Gemeda at the time resigned his commission in the Ethiopian National Defense Force and took control of the entroubled OPDO.

The OPDO held their fourth congress on 23 February 2006 in Adama

Adama

Adama , better known as Nazret or Nazreth , is a city in central Ethiopia and the previous capital of the Oromia Region. It is located in the Misraq Shewa Zone of Oromia, at at an elevation of 1712 meters, 99 km southeast of Addis Ababa...

.

In the 2008 by-elections

Ethiopian by-elections, 2008

Ethiopia held nation-wide elections for local offices in the kebele and woreda assemblies on 13 and 20 April 2008. By-elections were also held for seats in the Addis Ababa City Council, and in the national and regional parliaments that were vacant due to the Coalition for Unity and Democracy’s ...

, the OPDO won 23 seats in the Oromia Regional legislature, and 613 seats from 108 kebele

Kebele

A kebele is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia similar to ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people...

s for elections to the Kebeles Peoples' Representatives Council.