In the context of principle of transparency, the first problem related to transparency unfolds due to the special social responsibility held by the politicians, the candidates for positions, elected and appointed officials, they are obliged to maintain a high level of transparency publicly and to the media on matters of public interest. Transparency is considered one of the important prerequisites in the fight against corruption. The political entities are obliged to practice active transparency in their work and to publish various materials that are of interest to the public.
The political parties are also required to make important documents and data such as statute, party structure, decision-making methods, financial reports and other relevant documents for their work available to the public. However most of this publications, statutes and reports are unfortunately not known by the public. Almost all political parties in Ethiopia do not find it necessary to disclose their programs, organizational ethics and party rules. The National Election Board of Ethiopia leaves the issue of transparency to the parties themselves.
The second principle is related to the principle of professionalism and impartiality. Politicians who are elected and appointed officials, in addition to having access to their party’s communication channels, also have access to the official communication channels of the institutions they manage. Thus, they should use the government communication channels to inform regarding the government policies, decisions and measures, in order to ensure a clear distinction between the work of the institutions and the political parties, i.e., that there is not abuse of the government communication channels for the promotion of the party goals. In addition, the elected and the appointed officials have access to public officials responsible for communication in those institutions. Thus, officials should be impartial, maintain objectivity and put service obligations before personal interests.
The third principle, that is the Principle of evidence based communication. The manipulative speech, which includes disinformation, incorrect information and malicious information, can seriously affect the democratic processes in the country. By creating and spreading lies, character attacks, which can result in a decrease in trust in the electoral process and the institutions. Hence, it is important that the politicians and the public officials do not use disinformation and share only verified information in their communication. This has snow particularly become common among irresponsible social media users.
According to the 4th Principle of Ethical communication, appointed officials, as well as party officials, have an obligation in their communication with the public and the media to practice ethics in the communication. The political parties are encouraged to adopt codes of conduct which, among other things, oblige their members, officials, candidates and appointed persons to tackle speech that incites intolerance, discrimination or hatred. They are also urged to treat participants with respect during their press conferences, to practice equal treatment when asking questions and to refrain from labelling media workers and human.
At this point in time Ethiopia faces various challenges that are linked to public political communication. In this multi-ethnic country, although diversity in language is an asset for the people of the country, it also poses some difficulties in communication and particularly in mass public political communication. Political messages both at the federal state level and regions may be misconceived misinterpreted and result in some level of misunderstanding among citizens. Political activists and agitators may resonate political issues by mixing up messages with their own interest and understanding while the original message says otherwise.
Historical and ongoing political conflicts have created deep divisions, making it harder for political communication to build consensus or trust. This situation is being used by ethnic based activists and extremists to sow discord, mistrust and suspicion on government strategies and operations blending it with hate speeches particularly in regions where conflicts and wars have flared up in rural areas, access to modern communication platforms like TV, radio, internet, and social media is often limited, restricting the reach of political messaging. This also gives an opportunity for those who actively work in misinforming the public in rural areas and remote towns.
Fake news and propaganda, especially through social media, confuse the public and erode the credibility of legitimate political communications. This has been used by hateful political agitators and armed groups who have been disrupting public peace and stability both in urban and rural areas of the country for more than thirty years.
Many people in Ethiopia lack the skills to critically evaluate political messages, making them vulnerable to manipulation or misleading narratives. They remain subjected to individual narratives and emotionally charged ethnocentric understanding of the reality in the country.
Intense competition among political parties often leads to aggressive or negative campaigning, fueling further divisions among the citizens. Using political buzz words and jargons to incite the public to gain support for their views, individual politicians here or overseas try to gain political leverage out of the sufferings of citizens. They blame the government for the crisis they have deliberately caused.
Media houses and public communication networks lack the ability to create a strong public political narratives that could help to unite the nation under civic nationalism while due recognition needs to be accorded to ethnic diversity.
To avert negative political communication in Ethiopia, it is essential to promote constructive, inclusive, and informed discourse. This can be accomplished by promoting media literacy for educating citizens to critically analyze political messages and media content. It is also important to include media and information literacy in educational curriculum in elementary and secondary schools in the country,
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 27 APRIL 2025
