Being a servant leader is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. If someone is put in a certain role to serve the people who chose him/her well, they may be able to stay in that position for a limited period. On the other hand, dictators want to hold onto power until the end of their lives or be deposed by their heirs.
However, a peaceful transition is the anticipated result following an election in a stable, established democracy. Strong democratic institutions and norms, including opposition parties’ readiness to act as devoted opposition, are necessary for peaceful transitions.
You are likely to transfer power to chosen individuals after serving them with appropriate and efficient service for a certain period of time. On the other hand, dictators want to hold onto power until the end of their lives or be deposed by their heirs.
The most expected outcome from peaceful political transitions is maintaining peaceful momentum and staying sustainable. Political power, which comes from the general public, shouldn’t be extended by an official’s wishes and interests without the approval of the people who elected them to a temporary position. To put it briefly, this is a dictatorship.
As a continent, several African nations have been suffering from autocratic rulers who are unwilling to hand over political authority to their successors. They may do this by rigging ballot boxes or obtaining votes they do not earn to reverse election results win an election and maintain their position.
Last Monday, the former FDRE president Sahle Work Zewdie transferred power to the newly elected President Taye Atske-Selassie. This is a good practice to ensure sustainability in the political system and help the country to guarantee internal and horn peace.
This democratic practice is not considered a simple thing. As there is no nation built overnight, it is a practice that helps us democratic culture through experiencing such a wonderful culture. To strengthen the process, it is crucial to strengthen democratic institutions such as the House of Peoples’ Representative, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, the Ethiopian Institute of the Ombudsman, the Office of the Federal Auditors General, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, the House of Federation, and so on.
Family is a basement of democratic culture. As it is a basic social organ, every individual has to practice democracy since childhood period and be free to exchange ideas, thoughts, and so on. However, as a society, we lack the understanding of this truth.
As we are practitioners of democracy the essence of democracy should also be further developed in schools. Indeed, there are student parliaments in every school, and they are exercising democratic processes in the schools. This is an effort that should be sustainable until it is a well-developed culture that is acceptable by all segments of society.
On the other hand, to develop a culture of political power transfer, we need to have strong political parties that hold strong competitive ideas. Unfortunately, there are no strong and competitive political parties that have competitive ideas to compete with the existing ones. With the absence of strong political parties, it is difficult to think about democracy and power transitions from one party to the other.
On a larger scale, society in general has to practice the importance of reshuffling power within a group or transferring power from one political party to the other peacefully.
Building a culture of political transition is quite imperative in sustaining the political system or democracy in a given country, apart from maintaining the existing peace. As it requires continuous practice, the democratization process is not developed overnight. In this regard, developed countries that are better off in wealth and expertise should sit with us until we internalize a democratic culture.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 11 OCTOBER 2024
