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The Oromo People's Congress (OPC) is a major opposition political party in Ethiopia. It was founded in April 1996 as the Oromo National Congress by Dr. Merera Gudina, who is its chairman. However, the party licence and name were allegedly given to a marginal splinter group by the National Election Board of Ethiopia in order to undermine the party and create confusion among the voters after the May 2005 election, so the party was forced to change its name to Oromo People's Congress prior to the 2008 by-elections.
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2005 election results
Until the 2005 Ethiopian general elections the OPC had not attempted to build a permanent base of support outside its leader’s home region in Ambo woreda. In that election, as the Oromo National Congress the party was part of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces, that won 52 out of 527 seats in the Council of People's Representatives; the party won 42 seats in the Federal Parliament and 135 seats in the Oromia regional parliament in its own name.