BY MENGESHA AMARE
The long-awaited conduit to quench all Ethiopians democratic and reliable election thirst, the 6th national elections, is around the corner.
Ethiopians are tired of conflicts and rivalries born on the aftermath of elections following the recurrently reflected two diametrically different stances of political parties so far: the ruling party always declared that it had won the election conducting a fair, free and democratic elections on the one hand; oppositions declared they would have won the election hadn’t the ruling party made fraud, treachery and looting of ballot boxes during the election on the other.
Contestant political parties have also recurrently cited the case of cadres being provided with many cards for election to escalate the lot during vote counting.
No matter how arguing the election processes during the last five elections, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) was impartially restructured and organized to work for the nation and the general public as opposed to the previous one which was well bent as per some groups’ preferences.
As to the NEBE, all parties including the ruling one have to be determined to comply with the rules and procedures of the democratic and comprehensive election.
They are also expected to demonstrate professionalism and impartiality by refraining themselves from disseminating misinformation, disinformation and inflammatory messages that would further polarize society and incite violence.
Close to 50 million citizenry are expected to participate in the upcoming national elections so as to designate their representatives in Ethiopia via 50,900 polling stations, said Birtukan Mideksa, Chairperson, and National Election Board of Ethiopia.
Cognizant of the fact that democratic transitions are long processes, the National Election Board of Ethiopia, is working hard targeting at strengthening the foundations of democratic governance through a range of programs, among others: finalizing preparations to deploy local or international observers to monitor political transitions, preparing political parties’ guidelines compatible with the constitution, advocating for key democratic and electoral reforms. To support these initiatives, the Board has been developing a series of best-practice tools and training resources for international and domestic observers, civil society groups, and other strategic stakeholders.
According to Birtukan, the board has been working day in and day out to make the 6th national elections due to be held in the week of late May or early June a fair, free, reliable, democratic and peaceful (FFRDP) as much as possible.
She further elucidated that citizens’ expectations in Ethiopia can be met via entertaining an inclusive, transparent, free from intimidation, fear and violence elections as voting is a moment when citizens can hold their political representatives accountable and when power can be redistributed.
Almost thirty years have lapsed since Ethiopia started conducting a formal election across the nation. However, as learnt from various circumstances, political and electoral violence has remained an important threat to human security and provincial stability in the country.
These clashes and turbulent circumstances did emanate from the power monger stance of either the ruling party or the contestant ones. As bad luck has it, a number of citizens across the nation died of the conflict after election result revelation. So as to mitigate election aftermath lose, and close the chapter of turbulence and national unrest following elections once and for all, if possible, the Board was reformed and reorganized incorporating the inputs garnered from contestant parts, too.
According to Birtukan, election is a green light though which the preferred individuals and groups can pass to assume power in a democratic system; and parties who would like to deviate from this normal trajectory have no room to be accommodated.
Undeniably, the purpose of election is to provide citizens with an opportunity to freely choose their political leaders and allocate power peacefully.
However, underlying tensions in a society and high-stake competition can also result in violent and deceitful elections. Based on its mandate in peace, development and democracy promotion, the National Election Board of Ethiopia is facilitating conditions to conduct fair, free and reliable elections in the country and supporting parties to participate in the elections keeping the legitimate election process and being readied to well accept the post-election outcomes.
In Ethiopia, numerous examples from the twenty-seven years reflect the frequency of political and electoral violence as almost all of elections over the years were marred by violence. Such episodes of violence do not result directly from elections, but reflect instead the breakdown of political processes and instigated in the repercussion of elections.
If they are legitimate and inclusive, elections can pave the way for freedom of expression and promote peaceful power transitions.
In order to build a system on existing processes aiming at creating an inviting environment for free and peaceful elections, NEBE has provided a number of political parties with brief outlines about the overall conditions of the upcoming elections, added Birtukan.
As learnt from the Chairperson, the NEBE further supports civil society platforms and other legally set up interested bodies conducting domestic election observation. This is important to enhance the legitimacy of the election process.
The Board is working at national level to help the country come up with democratic elections and strengthen participatory democracy, consistent with human rights. The Tigray State in which an illegal and unconstitutional election was recently conducted would also be beneficiary out of the 6th national elections as citizens there can have ample opportunity to enjoy democratically electing representatives.
As learnt from Birtukan, the overarching objective is to enhance democratic supremacy and increase effective political participation for all, especially groups that have been historically disadvantaged or that face political, cultural, or socioeconomic barriers.
“All efforts must be made to ensure the timely holding of an inclusive, credible and peaceful election,” she recommended. “Both the ruling and contestant parties should abide by their commitments and constitutional order to conduct the election and preach their respective supporters and members to have gut in due course of accepting post–elections results.”
Efforts of making the next election a fair, free and democratic should not be left only to NEBE, rather it demands the combined effort of all—the government, contestant parties, aged electorate and other concerned bodies who would like to create democratic and prosperous Ethiopia, she said.
Without a shadow of doubt, elections to choose representatives are one way in which people can get their voices heard. Besides, a democratic system helps enable different views to be debated within a parliament; but contestant parties would like to use force to bring about the outcome they want.
Specifically, as important factors and citizens of the nation, political parties have to be committed to orient supporters and work in a civilized manner in responding to violence and human rights abuses.
