In February 1991 the EPRDF launched its offensive against the governing regime assisted by a large EPLF contingent. On 28 May 1991, the EPRDF entered
Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and assumed control of Ethiopia. In July 1991, the EPRDF established the
Transitional Government of Ethiopia.
[45] In May 1991, the TPLF had 80,000 fighters, the EPDM 8,000 and the OPDO 2,000. The total number of TPLF-members was well beyond 100,000.
[19]
Reacting to the international political context after the
demise of communism, the EPRDF and TPLF dropped all Marxist references in their political discourse and adopted a program of change based on
multi-party politics, constitutional democracy,
ethno-linguistic federalization and a
mixed economy.
[19]
Under the EPRDF, Ethiopia was governed as an ethnically federal, dominant-party state. Meles Zenawi, a member of the TPLF, served as
Prime Minister until his death in 2012.
[46] During EPRDF rule, Ethiopia retained
authoritarianism and shifted from a
one-party state to a
dominant-party state.[
citation needed]