BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
Enat Party is one of the political parties registered and licensed by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to participate in the upcoming 6th National General Election to be conducted in May. The party which designated the name Enat, meaning “mother” in Amharic was established recently but is making aggressive moves to participate in the upcoming 6th round national general election.
The Ethiopian Press Agency has spent a few hours with Party Deputy President Seyfeselasse Ayalew (PhD) concerning the current affairs and issues related to the election. Excerpts;
Would you please brief us on how Enat Party was established?
Enat Party was established taking the overall situation of the country into account. If we look at the revolution carried out in 1973/74, for instance, it ended up removing Emperor Hailesellasie I from the throne.
Consequently, many people died. Similar situations had unfolded during Derg and TPLF lead governments. The very reason for this is, the people split by “Our’s” and “their’s’’ mentality.
This situation forced the people to be divided into two categories. When the military junta was in power for 17 years, it categorized people providing various names such as anti-revolutionaries, bourgeois etc. And over the 30 years, changing its style, the government led by the TPLF junta had employed ethnic federalism categorizing the people into many groups as per their language and ethnic background. As a result, we have reached a position of attacking people due to their ethnicity.
The quandary is an alarming day in day out, but, if things continue like this what will be our destiny? It has been then intensifying from time to time. By the way, it is a human mind that generates good or evil ideas. The recent system has not committed itself to preempt harmful things. Thus, creating a new political party that narrows the gaps is the very reason for the establishment of the Enat Party.
The need for establishing the Enat Party was first introduced in November 2019 and then it obtained an initial permit in 2020. The party organized itself by recruiting party members and made its first general assembly in February 2020 and submitted it to the Ethiopian Election Board. It then received a legal license and acknowledgement in January 2021.
The party is established this year but it became competent with giant parties by nominating candidates for the election campaign. How was this possible?
The very reason is the endeavour of the party. We aim to bring the country to the level it deserved. What is reflected in today’ Ethiopia does not represent its image. Ethiopia is a model country for the rest of African countries to ensure their freedom.
Though it has a history of more than 3000 years, the world knew Ethiopia by conflict, human trafficking, drought, famine and poverty. The party’s idea is adored and accepted by all citizens and this is the reason why the party could gain several candidates within a short period.
How does the party evaluate the ongoing national political process before the reform?
The country was not stable for the past 30 years. However, the level of the problem reached its peak, especially during the reform period. The reform filled the public with greater hope especially when the people observed the Prime Minister’s move to ensure people’s solidarity. Surprisingly, people’s hope is changed as conflicts arouse between people and when one assassinated the other.
Are you saying that there is no new political culture that comes after the reform?
Indeed, the Prime Minister has come up with a new political idea. However, the ruling party is equal to EPRDF minus TPLF. It is TPLF who coined the EPRDF. Therefore, even if they changed the name to Amhara Democratic Party and Oromia Democratic Party, they have a picture of EPRDF. Though few people come up with new perspectives, the structure is the old one and where does the change come from? After the reform government took power, we saw what was going on.
What do you think is the best solution for this?
We have to say no to ethnic-based political arrangements. If we take Rwanda, they were classified as Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups and one group perpetrated genocide over the other. During the time, many people have died within a day. When the two ethnic groups killed one another, the world community gave them a deaf ear.
They, later on, woke up and decided to impede genocide and started to live in harmony. When we come to ours, ethnic-based politics should be abolished and declared illegal.
One of the hurdles to the reform was the absence of rule of law in Tigray State. How do you see the law enforcement operation launched by the government? Do you believe it is a successful operation?
When I see it from the perspective of human beings and party leaders, an independent state should continue as a state while it maintains sovereignty. My party believed that the article of the constitution should be amended but this does not mean that we are rejecting the existing constitution.
Until it is amended, we respect it with all its weaknesses. Article 39 for instance, talks about sovereignty and it says the country should not be isolated, thus, the state has to be protected in four corners as it paid a sacrifice for it. To see what was going on in the Tigray state, we have to isolate the people from the TPLF.
Things that happened just before the law enforcement operation indicated that the issue led to war. Regarding this, the central government was laissez-faire even if it had the capacity of controlling things before it reached the peak.
Having this in mind, the attack against the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) would not be accepted by any country. In this regard, the measure taken by the government is relevant and acceptable. We fully agreed on that.
However, as a party, we are more concerned about the task done after the end of the war and repeatedly expressed our concern. The law enforcement operation should only target TPLF and its affiliates and the government facilitate conditions to save the people from being a victim of the operation.
The Tigray people have paid a lot of sacrifice in place of the TPLF junta. This is a heartbreaking and saddening issue. Thus we have to feel their pain. On the other hand, assassination and displacing of citizens which we heard from other parts of the country is also heartrending news. The government should also take measures responsibly.
Your party has a firm stance elevating the country to its former glory. What does it mean? How can the country regain its former stage of civilization?
Today’s Ethiopia is known by its migrants. It is common to get the name of Ethiopians from the list of migrants submerged while they try to cross the red sea. If the media talk about the people who have died in Yemen, some of them are Ethiopians. Thus, if we are asked why people are migrating? The answer is, the situation is worse than that of migration due to the absence of democracy, poverty and backwardness.
However, in previous days, the previous identity of the country was different from the current picture. It was a country receiving several migrants, self-reliant, influential and getting wider acceptance by the world.
By the end of the 19th century, Ethiopia was a country that was widely known by world countries because it defeated the Italian colonial powers for the first time and ended colonization once and for all. It was the
flag of black people. If we go back to the 14th and 15th centuries, the construction of rock-hewn churches of king Laleibea, the footprints of King Fasil, the Axum obelisk, the country had a golden period of history but now it is found at the lowest position due to various reasons.
We have to regain this identity by resolving the dispute between us and our ethnicity. Whatever the language they speak, the religion they follow, we have to work hand and glove to ensure growth and thereby change the bad image of the country.
For the past 27 years, why do you think a party that contends with TPLF was not created? Do you believe that strong and competent parties are now created to involve in the 6th national election?
Let me begin with the
last question. These Days, the Enat party is a big and strong political party.
If this is not true, I do not want to waste my time sitting here. We are not
appearing as a political party, not for the sake of creating jobs for
ourselves. On my part, the task I have been executing is a huge value for me
and my country.
On the other hand, during TPLF’s regime, establishing a political party was considered as creating a job for oneself. As the parties were created by the size and model of EPRDF, there was no strong party that had the capacity of contesting with the ruling party.
That is the reason the quantity is even beyond 100. Until it was dismissed once and for all and became history, TPLF amazingly called itself a front that liberated the people of Tigray. It is controversial why the party called itself the liberation front when it carried out an armed struggle and acted as a ruling party of Ethiopia.
To attain its goal it had created a liberation front for every language. Luckily, if one party is appearing as a strong competitor, it butts in the party and isolates them into two or three groups. That is the very reason for the absence of a strong political party.
As I indicated earlier, I do not think that there is a party member and/or party toiling to create a job for himself. As it is the desire of the nation, we are now working to be a strong contesting party.
Though TPLF has collapsed once and for all, its members are scattered here and there in Ethiopia and abroad. Do you think that they will influence the election? If your answer is yes, how do you explain it?
If there are loopholes created anytime, there would be things that will influence the election. The question that comes to my mind is how the government is ready to apply the promise it made to make the election free, trustable and accepted by all actors.
The election process will be conducted peacefully if the government deploys security forces and perform various tasks to ensure peace and security in four directions of the country. What bothers me is not the dissolved structure of TPLF, rather the government’s lack of commitment.
Some parties repeatedly emphasize that their members are sent to jail. As a result, they marginalized themselves from the upcoming election. Similarly, some others said some gaps are not yet filled and advised not to carry out the election. What is your view in this regard?
Presently, as the time of the election is approaching, we are bothering about it too much. But the gaps would not bring any change. Indeed, we considered that there is instability here and there. This is the fruit that we reap from the wrong political perception that prevailed throughout the country. The question I want to raise here is ‘Do we gain anything by extending the election?’ The answer is, absolutely no.
It is enough to see our daily activities. The capital may be secure for today but there is some chaos in areas like Metekel and Horo Gurduru. Searching a weak premise and marginalizing themselves from the election has no relevance.
Challenges are expected even after. Instead of marginalizing themselves, political parties should be part and parcel of the reform by engaging themselves in the upcoming election. On the other hand, elections should not be taking place by the will of some political parties. As an independent country, Ethiopia is a country governed by its own rules and regulations.
If the government takes power using any means, we are not accepting it as the country has its constitution. Even though it holds many things which we have not agreed upon, we cannot say that we are not governed by the constitution.
Thus, conducting elections every five years is permitted by the law of the land. It then will be conducted accordingly. Instead what we are expected to think about is, the way the upcoming election is carried out peacefully and transforms the country.
Do you think the 6th national general election would be better than the previous five elections?
I expect something new from the beginning. Making the election better is helpful to decide the destiny of Ethiopia save the country from engaging in chaos and if the government lives up to its words and the election is carried out accurately, it will not only be better than the previous elections, it would bring tangible change in the country. I think the 6th national election will be better than the previous one.
As a political party, would you tell me, the plan and readiness of your party to make the upcoming election peaceful, fair and conducted upon the schedule?
Ethiopia has been going through various ups and downs which claimed the lives of many citizens. In the TPLF junta regime, many people have died due to the election results of 2005. The stance of the Enat party is the election should not claim the lives of people and cause damage to properties. For this to happen, all stakeholders should discharge their responsibilities.
On the other hand, all should understand the fact that if there is no country, no one, be it a politician or ordinary people, exists as a human being. If we will engage in chaos, instability, disagreement, the impact will take all of us to damage or no one benefits out of it. Taking this into consideration, all of us should discharge our responsibilities. As it has power on its hands, more is expected from the government in this regard.
Apart from that institution, which is expected to participate in the election process having observatory roles and/ or others such as justice institutions in the frontline should be free from any bias and provide immediate response for any queries.
For their part parties should lead the process of election responsibly. Enat party is ready and willing to discharge its responsibility in this regard. If this is true, the winner will not be a prosperity party, Enat Party or Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice Party, rather, the winner will be Ethiopia.
Thank you for your time
I also thank you for giving me such an opportunity
The Ethiopian Herald March 30/2021
