BY ABDUREZAK MOHAMMED
The House of Peoples’ Representatives repeatedly stated that it has begun parliament reform to align its procedure with the ongoing national reform agenda. It was also noted that different researches were done on selected sectors and a program office has been established to ensure better performance of the House’s overall procedures.
It was also reported that a guidebook has been prepared to examine and modernize House’s legislative system and a team of legal experts, which is expected to help the House scrutinizes its legislative system as required, has been set up. This move is expected to help lawmakers successfully discharge their entrusted mandate and keep the powerful executive body in check.
The Sixth House of Peoples’ Representatives of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) will be established October 04, 2021. Many Ethiopians hope that the members of the Sixth Parliament will do better than the previous members.
One of the things that gave the people hope in the House is the entry of members of opposition political parties and private candidates into parliament.
Particularly, the entry of individuals who are free from party affiliation into the parliament is important for public’s voice to be heard and complaints to be addressed immediately, as many said.
The entry of private candidates into parliament will be of great benefit to the voice of the people, said Ustaz Kamil Shemsu, member of the newly formed parliament. He run as independent candidate in the sixth national election and won a parliament seat.
In an interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Kamil stated that the entry of individuals who are not bound by party discipline into the parliament is very important to make public voices heard in the parliament as they are free from party influence, and it also gives the freedom to ask and to oppose when there are things that are contrary to the Constitution, their conscience, and the interests of the their electorate.
Of course, members of parliament are elected on behalf of their political party, but they are elected by the people and should strive to address public concerns. I think party discipline does not prevent the parliamentarians from doing so, he noted.
According to him, party discipline does not prevent public issues from being heard in the House. “As stipulated briefly in the Constitution, Members of parliament must obey the constitution, their conscience and their electorate,” he opined.
“Even if the members are party members, they should not remain silent in the name of party discipline when the three abovementioned things are violated,” he said.
He further noted that the previous country’s five national elections were not transparent and participatory. Private candidates and opposition candidates were suffered and abused. Due to non-participation in the election, almost all seats in the House were occupied by the members of ruling party.
Despite the fact that we [Ethiopians] are new to democracy and the current situation in our country has its own negative impact, private candidates have not only been able to compete in this election, but have also won the election and entered parliament, he also stated.
“Building a democracy requires the participation of all of us, he said, adding that the recent sixth national election was free, fair and impartial because citizens have participated in the election better than ever before and the democratic institutions are in better shape than ever before.”
For example, the Electoral Board is in a better position than ever before. The election process was very transparent. The Board’s efforts to hold free and fair elections are better than ever. In some areas, complaints about the election were answered immediately, according to him.
Regarding the current situation the country, Kamil said that our country is currently facing internal and external challenges. These challenges may undermine our national unity and sovereignty. He added that the new members of the House have an important role to play in finding a way to resolve disputes in the community through dialogue and to maintain our internal unity. In the occurrence of public grievances, members of the parliament should work at all levels to create a national consensus, he noted.
He said, “Our lack of internal unity opens the door for foreign forces to interfere in our internal affairs.” If we strengthen our inner unity, we can easily resist external pressures.” To counteract the pressure of foreign powers, our foreign relations must be in a way that benefits the country and the people, and in a way that respects the sovereignty of the country, he also insisted.
Kamil urged that members of the House must play their part in prioritizing public affairs and providing prompt response to grievances against the executive, and also in ensuring that issues raised by the people regarding good governance and infrastructure development are addressed properly.
He insisted that members of the House must represent their electorate in practice, and public issues in any part of the country should not be hidden.
“Together with other members of the House, I will do my best to avoid repeating the mistakes and shortcomings of the previous parliamentarians,” he promised.
He also stated that laws were enacted that violated the basic principles of the constitution and were detrimental to the interests of the nation and the people to benefit a group or some individuals. And also, the House was approving these proclamations without scrutinizing them. “I will contribute to the fight against such bills,” he added.
In related issue, Secretariat Office of the House of Peoples’ Representatives of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) provided training to the newly elected members of the House. The training focused mainly on the role of the parliamentarians, the code of conduct for members and the service delivery of the Secretariat Office of the House.
The training was attended by new representatives from all parts of the country who won the sixth parliamentary election, and it was also stated that the purpose of the training is to help the members of the House to carry out their duties without any shortage of information.
During the event, the newly elected members of the 6th House of Peoples’ Representatives recalled that the 6th national election was different from previous ones in that it was free, participatory and democratic.
They also stated that Ethiopians actively participated in the election and cast their votes freely; this shows Ethiopians’ commitment to move their country to a better democracy.
Members of the new parliament also promised that they are ready to serve Ethiopia and their electorates faithfully. They expressed their readiness to answer the questions of good governance, development, and other issues raised by the people. They also vowed to fight against corruption and mismanagement of public resources.
During the event, House Speaker Tagesse Chaffo also expressed hope that the 6th House of Peoples’ Representatives will have more freedom to come up with any ideas that will benefit the people and the country.
The members of the House have to present their ideas in a way that respects the rules of the House and works in a way that is best for the country. The House will continue to serve Ethiopia better by continuing the good work it has started over the past three years, he noted.
The Ethiopian Herald September 26/2021
