Senior representatives of the Eritrean Democratic Alliance (EDA), an umbrella group of 11 opposition groups, are scheduled to initiate a meeting in Addis Abeba on January 15. 

The meeting is an effort to break a stalemate that has prevailed since February 2007, the last EDA conference.    

The impasse was created when the EDA, an alliance of 11 opposition groups, could not find common ground on selecting its leadership. 

The February 2007 meeting saw the emergence of two voting blocs and one group.  One voting bloc consited of 3 groups, another had 7 groups, while another group, Nahda, chose to suspend its membership. 

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For almost a year, there have been efforts to bring the two blocs closer by Eritreans who see unity of the opposition groups as paramount to its success. At the grassroots and the mid-management level, members of the blocs have been holding a series of exploratory meetings to bring the two groups together.

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The meeting in Addis Abeba is being attended by representatives of the 11 opposition groups that made up the Alliance.   

Two items on the agenda are drafting an agreement for a transitional leadership that will lead the EDA until the next congress as well as designing a structure that enables greater participation of civil societies and media outlets in the upcoming congress.