Recently the government has engaged in dialogue with competing political parties on current issues. This is a good step that should be further upheld. Opposition parties, media and concerned civic societies should also actively involve in such dialogue so as to ensure sustainability of building democratic system in the country.
Democracy is not a matter of luxury, but of survival. Especially for a country like Ethiopia it is the basis for unity justice etc.
The culture of democracy in Ethiopia is too young. The attempts made to nurture democratic culture and values in the past were filled with a lot of hurdles. For example there was lack of genuine interest to involve multiparty opposition, level playing field for the opposition etc.
As a result all the efforts to deeply instill democratic practices have faced difficulties.
During the recent dialogue between the ruling party and competing political parties, the ruling party has created an opportunity to competing parties to forward their ideas on burning current issues especially the prevention of the global pandemic COVID-19, as well as the way forward in conducting election in the country.
The two issues, among others are highly sensitive and burning issues that need the joint efforts of the ruling party, competing parties as well as the media and civic society too.
Especially in the case of halting the spread of the global pandemic in our country, both sides have shown a good start in sharing ideas rather than competing each other as the outcome of the virus spread is going to have a collateral impact. Their endeavor should be appreciated since it has shown the example on how they should address their differences on other issues too.
After the conclusion of the dialogue, Prime Minsiter ABiy Ahmed, as a Chairperson of the ruling party and head of government has expressed appreciation to the valuable inputs obtained from the participants. This ensures the commitment of the ruling party to put into practice the principle of democracy which requires the participation of other stakeholders especially competing political parties. Though the parties usually forward their ideas in different ways through different occasions, the chance of formal discussion is very important both for the government, the parties as well as the public.
Yet the ruling party should make sure that it will further uphold the practice of involving parties in such high level national affairs and incorporating their inputs in its actions. All stakeholders should also contribute for the development of democracy at any cost.
The Ethiopian Herald May 2/2020
