Ethiopia is a Federal parliamentary republic. It is a bicameral system – the Upper House, known as the House of Federation (HOF), and the Lower House – the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR). There are 550 members of the HPR who are elected every five years, with a minimum of 20 seats reserved for minority nationalities and peoples. The political party with most seats in the HPR will form and lead the executive branch.
The HPR acts as the main legislative authority by issuing laws, called proclamations. The HPR nominates the President, which is a largely ceremonial post, ratifies international agreements and appoints federal judges. The last elections to the HPR took place in May 2015. The next parliamentary election is due to take place in 2020.
The HOF serves as a representative house for nations, nationalities and people – each recognised ethnic-national group has one representative and an additional representative for every million of its population. Members of the HOF are elected by State Councils in each regional state. The HOF does not have general legislative powers, but rather is dedicated to the interpretation of the constitution, issues of self-determination, disputes among states and distribution of federal and state revenues and federal subsidies among states.
In addition to the main form of legislation, i.e. HPR proclamations, the executive branch (the Council of Ministers and federal ministries) may issue decrees, regulations and directives according to a mandate issued by the HPR. Additionally, according to the constitution, international agreements ratified by the parliament are integral laws of the land.