In July 1991, the EPRDF convened a National Conference to establish the Transitional Government of Ethiopia composed of an 87-member Council of Representatives and guided by a national charter that functioned as a transitional constitution. In June 1992, the Oromo Liberation Front withdrew from the government; in March 1993, members of the Southern Ethiopia Peoples' Democratic Coalition also left the government. In April 1993, Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia after a national referendum. In 1994, a new constitution was written that established a parliamentary republic with a bicameral legislature and a judicial system.Former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at the 2012 World Economic Forum annual meeting