OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA 3 Year No . 53 ADDIS ABABA – 7 ' ' July 1997 CONTENTS Proclamation No . 88 / 1997 Loss of Mandate of Members of the House of Peoples ' _ Representatives Proclamatation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 625 PROCLAMATION NO . 88 / 1997 A PROCLAMATION ON LOSS OF MANDATE OF MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF PEOPLES ' REPRESENTATIVES WHEREAS , it is provided under sub - Article ( 7 ) of Article 54 of the Constitution that a member of the House of Peoples ' Representatives may , in accordance with the law , lose his mandate of representation upon loss of confidence by the electorate ; WHEREAS , it is necessary to legislate on the implementation of said provision which embodies a fundamental democratic principle ; _ NOW , THEREFORE , in accordance with Article 55 ( 1 ) of the Constitution , it is hereby proclaimed as follows : PART ONE General | 1 . Short Title Mandate of Members of the House of Peoples ' Representatives Proclamation No . 88 / 1997 " . Definitions In this Proclamation : 1 ) " Deputy ' ' means a member of the House of Peoples ' Representatives elected , under an elec tion conducted by the National Electoral Board , as a representative of a constituency and issued with a certificate to that effect by the Board ; Unit Price www . AfricanLawArchive . com * * * The African Law Archive * * * www . AfricanLawArchive . com 2 ) " constituency ' ' means a Woreda or a combination of Woredas made up of 100 , 000 inhabitants and includes a designation so made for separate representation purposes , as specified in the elec toral law ; 3 ) “ elector ' means a national who is eighteen years of age and having resided within the constituency for two years or more , as the law provides , for ; " woreda ' ' means an administrative area demar cated pursuant to the decision of a Regional Council . PART TWO Rights and Obligations 3 . Fundamental Rights 1 ) Every national has the right to elect a Deputy to the House of Peoples ' Representatives , in accordance with the law . 2 ) Every national may , together with other electors , periodically scrutinize , evaluate and judge his / her Deputy . 3 ) Every national has the right to withdraw or maintain support for his / her Deputy . Every Deputy has the right to openly and publicly resound the acclaim he / she receives from the electorate as well as to , similarly , refute or counter reprimands , adverse evaluations or criticisms made against him / her . 4 . Mode of Assessment of Electoral Confidence A Deputy shall be deemed to have no confidence of the electorate , where : 1 ) in accordance with regulations to be issued by the Electoral Board , more than fifteen thousand elec tors of his / her constituency forward , to the Elec toral Board , a demand that he / she step down ; 2 ) upon initiation by ten thousand electors of his / her constituency and in accordance with regulations to be issued by the Electoral Board , the Woreda Council passes a decision , by a majority vote , to the effect that he / she be recalled ; 3 ) in the case of a Deputy from a constituency designated for separate representation , it is confir med , in accordance with regulations to be issued by the Electoral Board , that he / she has lost it ; the House of Peoples ' Representatives decides , by a two - thirds majority vote , that he / she has failed to competently represent his / her electorate , in view of the misconduct he / she has manifested . p l 1 ) A Deputy has to be of a clean and clear standing in every respect , in consequence of having to be governed by his conscience as well , pursuant to Article 54 ( 4 ) ( c ) of the Constitution . . A Deputy shall have the responsibility to be honest and open in his deliberations of public affairs . 3 ) Creation of false evidence , forwarding of unsubs tantiated matters to the floor and untruthfulness shall be taken as major manifestations of miscon duct on the part of a Deputy . 6 . Measures to be Taken Against Misconduct 1 ) The case of a Deputy alleged for misconduct shall be investigated by a committee to be formed by the House . | 2 ) The House shall deliberate upon the recommen dations of the committee of inquiry and pass its decision on the case . 3 ) The House may , where it finds it appropriate , take the following measures against a Deputy found to be faulty of misconduct : ( a ) give him / her a warning reprimand to be made known to the public ; suspend him / her from membership of the House for a specified duration ; cancel his / her membership to the House , upon decision by a two - thirds majority vote , where he / she persists in his / her misconduct subsequent to undergoing penalty as under ( a ) and ( b ) of this sub - Article . 4 ) The diciplinary measures listed in succession under sub - Article ( 3 ) of this Article may be applied in disregard thereof , where the gravity of the fault so justifies . 7 . Effect of Dismissal from the House 1 ) Where a Deputy loses his / her seat as under Articles 4 and 6 of this Proclamation , the identity card of an elect issued to him / her by the Electoral Board shall cease to be valid . 2 ) Notwithstanding , the provisions of sub - Article ( 1 ) of this Article , such an ex - Deputy may stand for candidate in a by - election held , in the respective constituency , to fill the vacancy thereof . 3 ) A by - election under sub - Article ( 2 ) of this Article shall be held within a period of not more than three months from the date a Deputy had so lost his / her seat in the House . 8 . Effective Date This Proclamation shall enter into force as of the 7th day of July , 1997 . Done at Addis Ababa , this 7th day of July , 1997 . PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA | www . AfricanLawArchive . com * * * The African Law Archive * * * www . AfricanLawArchive . com