Part I
(Posted in Al Mariam’s Commentaries )
Will you be in the Hall of Fame or carry a badge of shame to your grave?
On June 5, 2021, Ethiopia will have its first free and fair parliamentary election in its history.
I cannot vote on June 5 with you because I gave up Ethiopian citizenship and took refuge in America during the Derg’s reign of terror.
I could not return to the land of Ethnic Apartheid during the reign of terror of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.
In July 2009, I asked myself, “What is it the Ghanaians got, we ain’t got?” I was frankly jealous of Ghana’s nascent democracy.
What the Ghanaians got was the right to vote in a free and fair election. Ethiopians had their elections stolen.
In October 2015, I asked myself, “Why Can’t Ethiopia be Like Ghana?” I wrote the piece to openly and publicly confess how much I envied the people of Ghana for choosing the Way of the Ballot.
I yearned — longed and bellyached and heart ached — for the day Ethiopia too like Ghana will have a free and fair election. That day is upon Ethiopia, NOW!
Since I cannot vote, the next best thing I can do now is to strongly urge all Ethiopians eligible to vote to register and vote.
There are just a few days left before the registration window closes.
Let me make it crystal clear. I do not plead with you to vote. Nor will I beg you to vote.
My aim is to convince you beyond a shadow of doubt that your vote on June 5, 2021 will make history. Glorious Ethiopian history!
My aim is to convince you to rock the (boat) vote. You gotta rock the vote to transition Ethiopia from dictatorship to democracy!
What do I mean by “vote”?
To me, vote means V.O.T.E. (Voice of the Electorate).
Vote means people’s power. When Ethiopians vote, their voices get heard. Vote = voice. When Ethiopians vote, they take control of their destiny; their country’s destiny.
Vote=POWER!
The objective manifestation of the power of the Ethiopian people is their ballot, their vote. Only the people have the power to delegate their power (their consent) to the government by casting their ballot and only for a limited period of time.
The government has no power to give the people power. A government that rules without the consent of the people is a tyrannical government. The government is the servant of the people, NEVER their master.
The people of Ethiopia are the masters and sovereign holders of all political power. The people of Ethiopia entrust their power for a specific period of time to those who compete for their votes and convince them that they will best serve their interests.
No government is legitimate which has not earned the vote of the people in a free and fair election. When the TPLF masters of Ethnic Apartheid stole elections for decades, I urged Ethiopians to vote, Vote out Tyranny in Ethiopia.
People of Ethiopia! Whether you like it or not, know it or not, you will make history by voting or not voting on June 5, 2021.
Whether you like it or not, Citizens of Ethiopia over the age of 18 who meet the legal eligibility requirements, YOU have an appointment with destiny, with history on June 5, 2021.
Will you keep your appointment?
If you keep your appointment and vote on June 5, you will have performed an act that few Ethiopians have been privileged to do in their country’s three-thousand-plus year history.
Your name will be enshrined in the Ethiopian Hall of Fame for voting.
If you do not vote on June 5, you will be inducted in the Hall of Shame. You shall carry a badge of shame to your grave!
The ultimate measure of political equality is the right to vote; to choose one’s representatives. The vote is the most important political tool invented by humankind.
Put differently, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” That is why every vote matters; In Ethiopia; In America.
Of course, the right to vote includes the right not to vote. But those who choose not to exercise their right to vote have no right to complain about the way they are governed or misgoverned.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY ALMARIAM
The Ethiopian Herald May 14/2021
