It has been suggested that the reason for the proposed merger of the AEUP and the UDJ is a recognition among opposition leaders that they are too weak and divided to pose a significant challenge to the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Yet eight opposition parties, including the UDJ, but not the AEUP, formed an opposition coalition, the Ethiopia Federal Democratic Unity Forum (known as Forum or Medrek in Amharic) to contest the 2010 elections. Despite this united front, the opposition secured only one seat in the 547-seat national parliament; the balance being one independent and 545 EPRDF seats.

There is a second, more likely, motivation for the merger, relating to an announcement in 2010 that Medrek planned to transform from a coalition to a front. Under the laws governing political party registrations, a coalition is defined as two or more political parties that merge for a limited period with a specified objective (typically an election). A front, on the other hand, is defined as two or more parties with a common name, political programme and rules. As a front, political groups are more closely associated with a common political platform, exist legally and the grouping does not expire after a specified period of time. The UDJ has been a leading proponent for the change and merging with the AEUP would put it in a stronger position within a Medrek front. Mr Hailu would also benefit by securing a top position within the UDJ, rather than joining Medrek directly as a leader of a smaller party. Regardless of the reasons, an AEUP-UDJ merger would put the opposition closer to its form in the 2005 elections under the CUD, when it had substantial successes.