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rural peasants’ associations, which are the lowest units in the Ethiopian
administrative system. The exact number of people participating in these
meetings is controversial, some claiming that only five per cent of the
population took part (Abbink 1995:155), while others argue that “no more
than 30 percent of the citizenry participated throughout the nation” (Vestal
1996:24). But the results of the discussions did not have any substantial impact
on the final draft of the constitution. The EPRDF’s attempts to consult the
people in the drafting process might have been a way of making the
constitutional process look more participatory and the Commission more
accountable, but in the end, they were not very successful in reaching this aim.
Opposition parties withdrew from the process and the elections to the
Constitutional Assembly. Thus, the EPRDF controlled the Constitutional
Commission, the elections and the final ratification in the assembly.
It is apparent that the process behind the new constitution was even less
inclusive and participatory than the process behind the transitional charter.
Although the transitional conference was marked by a “one-party dynamic”
(Vaughan 1994:60), at least several political parties, organisations and
individuals participated, and the fiercest competitor of the EPRDF, the OLF,
was an important part in the process. In the constitutional process, the EPRDF
totally dominated the scene. It is therefore impossible to conclude that the final
confirmation of the federal solution through the constitution was based on a
pact or covenant between contending political forces. The lack of broader
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