BY ADDISALEM MULAT
Following the free, fair and credible elections that took place in the country last week, Ethiopia took the international community aback. It has proved doomsday tellers wrong by conducting democratic election in a peaceful atmosphere.
Ethiopians regardless of gender, religious affiliation, political point of view and more of the same managed to partake in the poll with flying colors. They were able to exercise their democratic rights in a pleasant way, this time having more contestants to pick from and more freedom to echo their voice.
The other unique feature of this year’s election is huge voters turn out. Against this background, Ethiopia has set a good example to the rest of Africa without a shred of a doubt. It is no hyperbole to say holding a peaceful and fair election in the midst a wide spectrum of disinformation. The incident marks a stark departure from the age-old tradition. It was indeed a longtime coming.
In spite of the fact that a number of elections were held previously on the watch the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s predecessors, the envisioned target could not be achieved given that they were shame ones that could not win the trust the voters let alone others.
The then ruling was known for its vote rigging and cheating acts shattering down the hopes of Ethiopians.
Back in the day, despite the fact that the government of Ethiopia made every effort to familiarize the international community, some have been deceived by the tsunami of misinformation fanned by internal and external elements.
Prior to and even during the 6th poll, some international media outlets were persistently throwing a wet blanket on Ethiopia over and over again. Following the successful completion of the 6th Ethiopian National Election, many countries and organization including those, who cast a doubt on its fairness and peacefulness; have come to with the reality.
While admitting the poll was largely democratic and free, some countries separately and collectively also came up with their own concerns most of which are far from the truth.
Issuing a press statement in response to the concerns of some countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said lately that the Government of Ethiopia appreciates the interest the country’s longstanding international partners have shown in the electoral process of the 6th national elections in Ethiopia. We also appreciate the acknowledgment of the integrity of NEBE, the active involvement of civil society, and the massive turnout of voters.
“The government of Ethiopia also took note of the importance of conducting honest reflection on the successes, challenges, and shortcomings of the 6th general elections to have improved future elections. In this regard, we found it necessary to set the record straight on the claims made by some of our partners since they failed to show the undistorted reality of the electoral process.” it added.
The statement went on to say, “The new political administration has shown its commitment to expand the political environment by releasing political prisoners and allowing dissidents to participate in the political life of their country. The attempt to attach the detention of some opposition leaders with the electoral process is misleading and undue interference with the judicial process. The government of Ethiopia has not imprisoned anyone for freely expressing their political views.”
The claim of the harassment of media representatives is typical of the gross misrepresentations of the electoral process. The government believes that one of the visible and uncontested fruits of the new political administration is the expansion of the media landscape ranging from the traditional outlets to the proliferating social media platforms. To our surprise, one of the complaints of public media outlets was that some competing political parties failed to utilize the free media campaigning time allotted to them by the NEBE.
As our partners would understand, building a democratic system is not a one-time engagement in elections but a process. The Government of Ethiopia believes that the 6th general elections are significant strides in this regard. It was the first time people choose their representatives without undue pressures employing opportunities created by the multifaceted legal and institutional reforms that the government has been taking to make the electoral process fair and transparent, according to the statement.
It went on to say, “The election is also different from previously held elections, at least in having an Election Board that independently decides to postpone elections in some areas for upcoming September due to security reasons. This would furnish the inhabitants and IDPs an opportunity to hold the election in a peaceful environment when the time arrives.”
The NEBE has also effectively dealt with the logistics problems giving no room to compromise the electoral process.
The government of Ethiopia believes that in the 6th general elections, Ethiopians have not only elected their representatives but showed their unwavering commitment for peace, the protection of their country’s sovereignty, and their right to decide on the future of their country. We expect our partners to respect that decision and understand that the people of Ethiopia are the sole owners and guardians of democracy in this country.
As learnt from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a bid to ensure democracy and the rule of law, the Ethiopian government has proven its unremitting commitments to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election is executed.
Be that as it may, Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoting state minster of MoFA , Redwan Hussien, said that the sixth National Election was spectacular except few and understandable technical glitches. Apparently Ethiopia prevailed no matter who won. It also proved every skeptics wrong in multiple accounts.
“Voter registration surpassed the purported fear, political parties defied the calls and agitations to boycott; was highly contested, voter turnout was high by all standards and the exuberance and determination was astounding.”
As to him, millions had to stand in a queue for hours and thousands stayed until 10pm in the evening. That really showed trust of the populace in the process and hope in the outcome. It was not marred by violence before, during or after the voting process. Alas, who wins wouldn’t and shouldn’t be a headache then. What’s apparently amazing though is that some folks and entities other than Ethiopians, who actually declined to observe, seem to be still weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“It’s not fair to unwarrantably second-guess us and then to fetch for fig leaves to make- up for such fumbling. It’s good to commend what’s worth commendation. We still learn. It’s still work in progress. However, it’s worth appreciation. We thank AU and other observers for their honest and candid testimonies though.”
The Ethiopian Herald June 30/2021
