BY MENGESHA AMARE
For long, the Ethiopian Constitution has been at the heart of hot debates attracting approvals and disapprovals across the aisle. And, this time the argument has only gone fiercer before it gets lesser. In fact, ever since the constitution came into effect, it has been accompanied by cheers and jeers. Among the contentious part of the debates are the issues of legitimacy and inclusiveness.
The Constitution is criticized devoid of legitimacy as a result of a constitution-making process, non-inclusiveness and subsequent paucity of integrity and vitality in the constitutional system despite its values reflecting many crucial socio-economic and political aspects. Not few also argue that the constitution was deliberately crafted by previous political actors to protect their hegemonic position, which is grounded on their control of the security and military apparatus.
Hence, many are heard of saying that the current constitution’s lack of legitimacy should be remedied via making comprehensive constitutional reforms that would help the country fortify the vital cornerstones of constitutional elements.
It has recurrently been heralded that many officials of the government most of the time say ‘we do have an excellent constitution, but there are a number of shortcomings in due course of its implementation.’ This expression itself requires an intensive and all-encompassing explanation and scrupulous interpretation.
In this regard, scholars of law and politics stated that Ethiopia does have a very good constitution despite some pitfalls resulted from lack of the fundamental facets in due course of putting it into place. Basically, they said, state constitutions have to be purely cascaded from the constitution of the county keeping their respective domain into consideration. However, this reality is put aside and regional states always act otherwise.
According to these scholars, as constitutions of regional states are made citizens devoid of their rights to peacefully live in their country, it is common to witness a variety of conflicts in different parts of the nation.
According to Dr. Almaw Kiflie, Law and history instructor at Kotebe Metropolitan University, though the constitution of The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia does have many good things, it has incorporated many ill-intended laws especially the way and structure by which states’ constitutions are made.
These constitutions are outlined, promulgated and shaped based on tribally-oriented approaches and have been centering language and regional identity, which has long been coming up with a number of demerits in the country.
Besides, when states formulated constitutions, they made it discriminatory and partial instead of making it inclusive and all-encompassing and one nation has been made dominant over the other following the well widened disparity.
Though the country was structured to be home to all and a center of peaceful coexistence that equally serves all nations and nationalities, the actions of states have demolished this value. The state constitutions took disparity into account and ignored multi-nationality as they provided the respective ethnic groups residing in the states with special privileged despite their full rights to live there and feeling of ownership in their own country.
According to Dr. Almaw, even the federal constitution was formulated in tune with Revolutionary Democracy. This basis has itself impacted the law to be applied solely revolving around that specific frame of reference. It has categorized citizens as one is to kill, the other to be killed, one is superior, the other is inferior, and one is owner and the other is gatecrasher etc.
As to him, the constitution also pronounces the spirit of lord-tenant and master-servant narratives. These constitutions, be they are federal or state ones, have most of the time devoid other nations and nationalities outside the original tribe there of their political economy and even the right to life.
Likewise, such a devastating aspect is peculiarly widely reflected in state constitutions. This stipulation in the constitutions has made state administrators act in a limited horizon. As state constitutions have been ill-equipped since their inceptions, they usually let citizens die apart from being evacuated, he added.
He further stated that it is quite difficult to come up with a county which keeps its culture, history, citizens’ identity and that can stop erupting conflicts here and there unless the existing constitutions is substituted by a true and reliable one principally revolving around the country and its citizens, not confined territories and egoist officials.
A Political Science and International Relations instructor at Debre-Berhan University, Associate professor Damtew Tessema, on his part said that the constitution itself preaches the distorted relations among nations and nationalities at its preamble. Both constitutions are against the peaceful coexistence of citizens at any place in their own country.
“All the states in Ethiopia have their own constitutions. Good! These constitutions establish the organs of state and regulate their relationships. It is also noted that they serve as a symbol of sovereignty and all of these constitutions enjoy supremacy in the states. However, they have gradually become discriminatory and non-inclusive ones as some groups have most of the time, perhaps the ones who were born and raised in that specific place, chased away and got others evacuated,” he added.
True, he said, these constitutions have helped the states to reaffirm their power as inscribed in the federal constitution. They have also helped states design diverse forms of local government with ways of dealing with local ethnic diversity. Nonetheless, what is stipulated in the constitutions and what is practically exercised across the nation are diametrically different.
Besides, the delicate balance that has to be maintained between state autonomy and federal government is far from being completely established in Ethiopia.
Undeniably, he stated, rights to peace, development and environment, too, are granted constitutional recognition. However, the right of ethno-national communities to self-determination is gratuitously recognized.
Ass. Professor Damtew said, “Making foreign relations, national defense, currency, immigration, inter-state water resources, among others, are listed as federal powers, but in some circumstances states surpass the authority of the federal government, which is illegitimate.”
Basically, one of the factors state constitutions are authorized is to guarantee protection for rights of citizens of the country centering on all citizens residing in their domains, which means they are inclusive enough to safeguard all citizens irrespective of their place of origin as everywhere in the country from corner to corner is theirs. However, what is widely witnessed right now is not like that since some nations are pushing others to leave the area as if it is gifted solely for hem, he elaborated.
“Surprisingly, the human rights provisions of most of the constrictions are similar, sometimes even identical, to those of the federal constitution, but most states are seen violating the human rights of citizens applying a discriminatory. That is a great problem demanding lasting solution if we are to build a country of all,” he underlined.
The Ethiopian Herald 10 January 2021
