Democracy in my opinion is the most used but abused term in the Ethiopian political lexicon. Shoe shine boys, cobblers, students and persons of creative arts, as well as high placed politicians, understand and interpret democracy not from its own essence but on the basis of what they think it should be and what they could get out of it.
In relatively modern history of Ethiopia, with the exception to the ruler and elect of God! of the imperial regime, the preceding two regimes of The People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Federal Democratic Republic Ethiopia, spiced the name of their government and their policies with the term democracy. Democracy is mentioned in the FDRE constitution more than 20 times while 14 articles or 13% of the entire constitution was devoted to democratic rights.
Both in general and in the context of the Ethiopian constitution, democracy is mentioned and is provided as a totality of rights and is not limited to some specific rights relating only to political rights as provisions of human rights could also be considered as democratic rights, in my opinion.
Democracy cannot be promoted by voicing outright insults and unfounded allegations on any nation, nationality, or peoples simply because one hates this or that nation and is disenchanted with a certain government official or a political party. The constitution or any general conception of democracy cannot be quoted for a political fanfare of individuals with distorted and disgruntled views that would do a disservice to the unity of the peoples of this country.
Democracy implies individual and collective freedom in the context of the united actions of peoples of Ethiopia. It is not a liaise faire propagation of disruptive ideas. I understand democracy in a collectivist pattern of thinking in which individual rights are also respected.
We are now in a rapid escalation of the COVID-19 virus in which a number of legal and democratic rights are restricted for the benefit of the public. This has nothing to do with politics but to uphold the democratic rights of citizens as provided in article 36 of the constitution.
The real essence of democracy rests upon upholding human rights and strict adherence to the rule of law as well as accepting accountability for any illegal action on the part of citizens.
For instance, when the government issues a proclamation on the State of Emergency, citizens are legally obliged to abide to the provisions of the proclamation to help save their life and that of fellow citizens.
Some think that the government is the only custodian of democracy that can issue democratic rights or lock them down at its whims and desires but the government is only a vital element of our political system while the other elements of the system including political parties, civil society organizations, professional associations have their own stake in building democracy in Ethiopia.
Democracy prevails through mutual respect at all levels and acting in accordance with social values cherished by the entire society. Democracy demands rising above differences. Ascertaining the properly balanced relation between federalism and democracy through the mutual complementarity of both will help to enhance democracy to its highest level. Both federalism and democracy can never be divisive but both are super structural prerequisites for promoting viable economic basis for national development.
Recent efforts by the Constitutional Inquiry Commission to seek inputs from various elements of our political system on its task to interpret some aspects of the constitution is a democratic approach to involve all concerned in the entire process. I think that democracy will be promoted by allowing the voices of all concerned to be audibly heard.
Democracy is closely linked to the fulfillment of both economic and social obligations by the government and the public. This is a major prerequisite for democracy because no democracy can prevail under the conditions of abject poverty and destitution. Democracy is intrinsically bent upon the fulfillment of basic needs of citizens and not only on their political rights of electing their representatives for legislative posts.
Almost all political parties profess about democracy but almost none are engaged in educating the public on the fundamentals of democracy. We hear of much of their views only during the election season.
The Ethiopian mass media seems to lack any meaningful information on how the public can have a broader view of democracy but they are always busy with issues that are forwarded by the government. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between their journalistic activities from public relations information they disseminate. However, I would like to hail their commendable information they are releasing on COVID-19.
The Ethiopian version of democracy is still at its infant stage but it is the responsibility of all concerned to save it from untimely stunting. Otherwise, our democracy will remain to be a buzz word that everybody is repeating in fashionable public speeches and lectures from podiums.
The Ethiopian herald June 13,2020
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
