Book review of Framing the State in Times of Transition: Case Studies in Constitution Making - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Eritrea, just like most of the African states, was under the colony of a European nation. It was colonized by Italy from the year 1890 to 1941. When the Italian left Eritrea in 1941, Britain cam e and took over. British government ruled Eritrea for over a decade from the year 1942. However, in the year 1950, the neighboring Ethiopia joined hands with the United Nations to liberate Eritrea from the hostile hands of the British. The Ethiopian governor, Emperor Haile Selassie, was very instrumental in this plan. Fortunately, Eritrea was liberated though with a limited autonomy (Bekete, pg 65). Later, Emperor Haile Selassie ignored this autonomy of Eritrea and assimilated it as a legitimate part of Ethiopia in the year 1962.
During this time in Eritrea, an armed organization called the Eritrean People’s Liberal Front (EPLF), had started the fight for the ultimate freedom of Eritrea. They eventually took over Eritrea in 1991 and acted as a transitional government for a while.
The initiative of the EPLF had empowered the citizens of Eritrea on various areas such as social justice and democracy. This is what facilitated the making of the new constitution. The government of Eritrea was very committed to bring independence and peace to the nation. The government then thought of a referendum that could liberate Eritrea from Ethiopia. The EPLF however insisted that they needed a referendum with an external observer. Therefore, the United Nations sent the observers. In 1993, the referendum was carried out and the people chose full independence from Ethiopian government.
The very aggressive EPLF was however not elected by the people during a general election that followed. The type of election carried out in Eritrea was based on the majority. Going by the results of the election, a proportional method would see EPLF and the Ethiopian at stalemate. In 1997, the approved ...Download file to see next pagesRead More