People's Front for Democracy and Justice

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People's Front for Democracy and Justice
الجبهة الشعبية للديمقراطية والعدالة
ህዝባዊ ግንባር ንደሞክራስን ፍትሕን
Leader Isaias Afewerki
Founded 1994 (1994)
Preceded by Eritrean People's Liberation Front
Headquarters Asmara, Eritrea
Youth wing Young People's Front for Democracy and Justice
Ideology Eritrean nationalism,[1]
Secular nationalism[2]
Catch-all party[1]
Politics of Eritrea
Political parties
Elections

The People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) (Tigrinya: ህዝባዊ ግንባር ንደሞክራስን ፍትሕን, Həzbawi Gənbar nəDämokrasən Fətəḥən, abbreviated ህግደፍ?, Arabic: الجبهة الشعبية للديمقراطية والعدالة‎) is the current ruling political movement in Eritrea. Successor to the formerly Marxist-Leninist and African socialist Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), the PFDJ holds itself open to nationalists of any political affiliation.[3]

Following a United Nations-supervised referendum on independence in April 1993, the EPLF, which liberated Eritrea and was pivotal in overthrowing the government of Ethiopia, declared the new nation of Eritrea the following month. In February 1994 the EPLF renamed itself the People's Front for Democracy and Justice as part of its transformation into Eritrea's ruling political movement. The leader of the PFDJ party and current President of Eritrea is Isaias Afewerki.

There is some debate as to whether PFDJ is a true political party or whether it is a broad governing association in transition. Eritrean National elections were set for 1995 and then postponed until 2001; it was then decided that because 20% of Eritrea's land was under occupation, elections would be postponed until the resolution of the conflict with Ethiopia. However, local elections have continued in Eritrea. The most recent round of local government elections were held in May 2004

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b O'Kane, David; Hepner, Tricia (2011), Biopolitics, Militarism, and Development: Eritrea in the Twenty-First Century, Berghahn Books, p. xx, http://books.google.fr/books?id=x1pxdhO1RD0C&pg=PR20&dq=People%27s+Front+for+Democracy+and+Justice+Marxist+Leninist&hl=de&sa=X&ei=Sx0TT6eWJMuYOoWZxOwJ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=People's%20Front%20for%20Democracy%20and%20Justice%20Marxist%20Leninist&f=false, retrieved 15 January 2011 
  2. ^ Joireman, Sandra Fullerton (2003), Nationalism and Political Identity, Continuum, p. 133, http://books.google.fr/books?id=cFT4HYDUlh0C&pg=PA139&dq=People's+Front+for+Democracy+and+Justice+nationalism&hl=de&sa=X&ei=syATT47oCImDOrmz-eEK&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=eritrea&f=false, retrieved 15 January 2011 
  3. ^ Markakis, John (March 1995). "Eritrea's National Charter". Review of African Political Economy 22 (63): 126–129. doi:10.1080/03056249508704109. http://www.roape.org/cgi-bin/roape/show/6314.html. Retrieved 2006-10-20. 
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