Political structure in Eritrea
Head of state: President Isaias Afwerki
Head of government: President Isaias Afwerki
President Isaias Afwerki.
President Isaias Afwerki and his cabinet of 16 ministers, regional governors and other
officials form the 24-member State Council, the executive branch of the Eritrean government,
chaired by the president.
An unicameral 150-member National Assembly which comprises 75 Central Committee members
of the ruling PFDJ, together with 75 others (representatives elected by the general population,
of whom at least 11 must be women, and 15 members representing Eritreans living abroad) form
the legislative branch of the democratic government of Eritrea.
The National Assembly establishes the domestic and foreign policies of the government,
regulates the State Council’s execution of these policies and approves the country’s budget.
The National Assembly elects the president directly.
The judiciary consists of courts at national (Supreme Court), regional (10 provincial courts),
and village levels (29 district courts). Special Sharia courts subjugate to the Muslim
population, following Islamic Sharia law in family cases.
Following the referendum in April 1993, the country’s first elections since independence
from Ethiopia took place in 1994, when the PFDJ (People’s Front for Democracy and Justice)
won 284 of the 303 declared results (At its third congress in February 1994
the EPLF changed its name to The People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ).
On May 23rd 1997, a 527-member Constituent Assembly comprised of the 150
members of the provisional National Assembly, the elected representatives of the
six Regional Assemblies and representatives from the Diaspora ratified Eritrea’s
first internally generated national constitution.
The Eritrean Government has a strong commitment to the development of a private sector-led
market economy, and has adopted a zero tolerance policy towards corruption.
The announcement of elections in December 2001 is another important milepost in the Eritrean
history as an independent nation.
The camel has been adopted as the national
emblem for its instrumental role in transporting
supplies during the 1961-91 war of independence.
The official flag of the State of Eritrea (Hagere Ertra) is basically a continuation of the flag that was used by the Eritrean People’s Liberation
Front (EPLF), during the 1961-91 struggle for liberation.. This flag composed as a red triangle with its base at hoist, with a yellow star in the center, inspired by the Marxist revolutionary
character of the EPLF movement. The green (top) and light bleu areas correspond to the 1952-62 flag when Eritrea was an autonomous region within the Ethiopian Federation. But the colors can just as well be associated with agriculture and the sea.
In the post 1991 flag (adopted in December 1995) the yellow star is replaced by two olive
branches forming an yellow wreath with another olive branch rising from the base of the wreath. This wreath, a UN symbol, but also a peace symbol, is likely to be the same wreath used in the 1952-62 flag.
In the post 1991 flag green symbolizes the agricultural and livestock economy of the country,
The red symbolizes the blood of the martyrs of the 30 year struggle
for liberation, blue for the Red Sea and Eritrea’s maritime resources, and yellow the mineral wealth of
Eritrea.
The Eritrean national flag is subjected
to a great respect. During the hoisting of the flag, car drivers must park and
get out of their vehicle, whereas pedestrians must stop.