We have recently come to learn that the former Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front, EPRDF, the ruling coalition of four ethnic based parties that have been running business in Ethiopia, apparently undisputed and unopposed, have decided to merge in to one single party called Prosperity Party.
However, there is this footnote that has not been accorded too much light or weight and that is one of the four original members of the EPRDF coalition, the TPLF or the one which many have taken as the dominant component of the entire coalition and allegedly the one that used to call the tunes, has not felt any reluctance to openly express its reservations on what they more or less called was ‘hasty and not well pondered or deliberated decision’. It is too soon to say if this is indeed a major decision and if it is bound to have some impact on the way politics will be run in the country. Certainly the merger is a milestone and game changer. What are the implications, though?
The first question many ask is: why is it that TPLF does not feel like joining in the merger? There could be several motives but the one that is anyone’s guess is probably the risk they feel that it will lose its particular identity and history as it gets mingled in a huge constituency where it would be impossible to exert all the influence it used to in the dynamics of developments in the country. Well in any democracy there is no place for exclusive power or dominion but sharing of all parties. And if there are ambitions to this end, the simple answer must be: it is too late to entertain such ambitions in present day Ethiopia.
Certainly, many argue that there may be conditions that allow the TPLF to probably remain the biggest political force at least in its native area. It has a strong base unless it has been eroding it due to the discrediting of some of its historical leaders by the newly emerging hierarchy. But the problem may get complicated when the fancied influence tries to expand to the federal level. The law has put limits to the powers of regional states. This must not be a controversial issue. Politics always has legal boundaries or else gets to be uncontrollable leading to chaos.
During the past twenty seven years the federal system was not duly applied and it has resulted to be as some say just a mask or catch word used to secure legitimacy. Observers have been heard asserting these days that there was actually a centralized unitary state and it is now that Ethiopians will actually experience the taste of a true federal arrangement.
The way the federal arrangement was made has been one of the most contested points when the EPRDF prepared for the promulgation of the constitution. In fact there have always been groups of people who totally opposed to this 1994 Constitution for this reason alone; even while admitting that there are other quite forward looking principles of human rights and all the rest. But what has always been very thorny was the way power was shared among the population of the country and, by all parameters, it was not fair or equitable.
Many question why has the new reformed party insisted that this merger be implemented now? The answer is simple and it is that the country is marching towards ‘total reform’ and the politics of the country needs to be up to the expectation of the people for which they struggled for years.
The new ideology or philosophy of Medemer as expressed in the book published by the chairman of the EPRDF is unequivocal in its objectives and those who support his moves argue that it is now time that the country gather all its resources not only natural and human but also historical and channel them into one direction and try and take full advantage of the idea of unity and Medemer.
They state the former basic ideology of ‘revolutionary democracy’ and the state sponsored investments and development has hardly benefited the progress of the country as it should. The aspirations of the large masses were thwarted by the emergence of a privileged class that took all the benefits of whatever riches were made. Abuse of power and corruption has been the main trademarks of the lead personalities in the hierarchies of the party. And changing this is the core of the reform.
The way corruption took root and expanded in the bureaucracy and ‘partitocracy’ has been more than the country and the economy could bear. The final result has been the macroeconomic situation that we are now in: monopoly of the state and monopoly of power by a few individuals to suit their personal and family business. The government argues this kind of exclusion-based politics will now be stopped and an all-embracing and participatory politics will take place with the new thought of Medemer.
This new thought could only be implemented by forming a new party that does not exclude any one due to their ethnic or linguistic origin and that was why the formation of the new party was needed. Prosperity Party will be including those groups of people who were once excluded due to their belonging to other parties such as the so called ‘partner parties’ of the various ‘marginal’ regions: Afar, Somali, Benishangul, Gambella and Harari peoples. These groups are now invited to join the party and the leaders say that it was in the long term project of the coalition to invite them.
Abiy and company say they are just implementing the long term objectives of EPRDF and anyone who rejects this proposal must have their own problems or agenda that does not go with the policies of the coalition. It has been deferred due to various reasons but the last Party Congress in Hawassa did decide that things get more expeditious and reach a concrete result. And that is what the recent EPRDF Executive Committee meeting applied albeit with the dissenting opinion of six members. Abiy said the principles of democracy should govern the way the party is run; and those who do not agree can always make their case but cannot be an obstacle to the will of the majority.
Now the issue that some raise is how can the merger be applied if one of the four does not agree and is it not contrary to the tradition of the coalition that used to rule the country singlehanded? The logical answer may be that it is now changing times and the country is undergoing reforms and whatever was unjust or unfair cannot continue anymore. It is a result of the reforms in other terms.
New issues will of course arise as we go deep in the details of the merger and who will control what in the political scene. Those who have reservations on the way the merger was done argue that the tendency could lead us to the old regime of ‘unitary state’ where the autonomy of the regional states may risk to be dissolved. They prospect the power of one party state but what the premier has been arguing is that the provisions of freedom that the federal constitution guarantees will not be affected in any way. Rather with this new arrangement all regionals states will have their say in government something they did not in practice have ever since EPRDF took power and there are no backward journey.
Prosperity Party is aiming to bring the entire population to a new prosperity tower harnessing all the resources available and capitalizing on the maximum support from international partners and donors. In fact, the trajectory that we now see seems tuned to this idea and it is visible that the new government is well engaged in expanding its investment and reformative acts within the economy. The government does not exclude any one group or nationality just because it may entertain a different idea than what the majority may think but accommodate their reservations in a democratic and rational manner.
In the meantime, elections are looming and there will be better light on how this new party behaves and how it goes about addressing the core issues of the country. The biggest worry for citizens for the moment is one that has to do with ethnic politics and those who want to take full advantage of the transition to take the country into this abyss of looking at things only from the perspective of ethnic divisions, using not only false narratives but also spreading hate speech and misinformation.
Finally, the recent meeting of the parliamentary committee in the House of Peoples Representatives deliberated on the proposed draft law addressing hate speech and misinformation. They argued firmly that drastic measures be adopted as a deterrent. What is trending now should not be tolerated especially in this critical, transition period. Hence, they argued respect for rule of law and strong measures on violations. As the country moves to a new historical chapter, such as the formation and consolidation of a new ruling party, no one can disregard this critical point.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday Edition 1 December 2019
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
