ESAT News (August 1, 2017)
The rubber stamp parliament in Ethiopia has been recalled from recess and is expected to discuss the state of emergency that has been in place since October 2016.
The parliament, with 100 percent of the seats taken by the EPRDF in the sham election in 2015, is expected to extend or end the state of emergency, according to reports. Bloggers close to the regime however said the parliament would decide to delegate some of the powers of the command post to regional governments. The command post is the body that is given absolute power by the state of emergency.
Media close to the regime also said the parliament is expected to delegate some of its powers to the speaker of the House, Abadula Gemeda. Details are not available as to what tasks the speaker will be delegated by the parliament.
The regime declared the state of emergency in October 2016 following deadly anti-government protests in which security forces killed hundreds of protesters and tens of thousands incarcerated en masse.