Preparations for the 2008 local elections and parliamentary by-elections are in full swing and it is such blissful news to learn from the National Election Board (NEBE) officials that an incredibly huge number of eligible voters, about 29 million, have gotten registered to cast their votes in a few weeks from now. [In a bit of digression, I implore the NEBE personnel to update their web site so that we can have access to up-to-date news and information about the upcoming elections just like the 2005 national elections]. I have been seriously concerned that people were deeply hurt and disappointed in the aftermath of the 2005 elections, especially in our metropolis and a few urban centers, and the repercussions might be reflected in repudiation from eligible voters to take part in the current elections. I appreciate our people for their illustrious exculpation and eminent forgiveness about wrongs in the past and their readiness to move forward. I also appreciate their eagerness to demonstrate that the ballot box is the only way through which transfer of power from one political party to another can be realized and a government can be changed. I also hope that the great majority of the registered voters will cast their votes in April, the finale.

One serious query I have to concerned bodies of the government, typically the Ministry of Information, is that a few weeks are left for the April elections. Political parties haven’t yet gotten the chance to unveil and publicize their programs and alternative policies to the electorate. Unless contesting political parties are given access to the media at this point in time, when are they going to make their programs and policies known to the Ethiopian populace? We cannot aspire to see semblance in our system with other systems in old democracies, but we observe that there is too much delay in how schedules are tabled and how things move. If we assume that elections would take place in the middle of April, it would be only six weeks from now. Would only a month and half be sufficient for political parties to communicate their vision and agendas to the electorate? After all, we don’t have the luxury of numerous media outlets, and the time each contesting political party will have is overly limited.

In addition to having access to the mass media, party financing is another big area of concern for political parties in our country. The ruling party and opposition political parties should deliberate on this matter and make party financing a reality. It contributes immensely to nurturing our county’s democratic system. Political parties who are dysfunctional due to financial constraints cannot contribute much to the sprouting democratic order. It is true that our country cannot afford to hugely finance political parties. Nevertheless, if these political parties are not able acquire a little bit of financial help locally which can be supplemented by contributions from their members, there is no way they can function capably in election contests. Nor can there be a way they can extricate themselves from the noxious sway of deleterious politicians in the diaspora who use their finances to influence opposition political parties from afar, as was the case in the past.

While the number of voter registration is very encouraging, it is upsetting to learn that candidates of single political parties have been registered in Tigray and Gambella. This is not a pleasant signal and is perhaps attributed to suffocating political ambience in those regional states. Even if I don’t know much about what’s going on in Gambella, my intuition tells me that the predicament in Gambella might emanate from the wrangling and gory strife a few years ago. I hope that the scar left behind would vanish through time and situations would be much more conducive for political contest in the near future. With regard to Tigray, it cannot be anything other than an unfortunate lack of favorable and welcoming political atmosphere. This was the case in the past and the vicious cycle is perpetuated by the reluctance on the part of TPLF officials to entertain other political parties to contest in the elections. It is common knowledge that Arena Tigray headed by Ato Gebru Asrat was registered to contest in Tigray, but soon after it announced its intent to run for regional elections, all sorts of defamation and smear campaign were launched by top party as well as the regional state officials including the president of the regional state himself. This is an act that should be condemned. The leaders of Arena were forced to withdraw due to the intensified assault and pestering from the outset. Ideas should be targeted, not people. What we saw in Tigray was the opposite. This is also indicative of the fact that the glimpse of democracy in Tigray is much less than in other regional states. It is imperative that TPLF officials including our Prime Minister give this issue due attention and make the political atmosphere in Tigray much more conducive for future election contests.

If constituencies are represented by single party candidates in any election contest, how can we call it election in the first place? Shouldn’t there be at least two so that people can show their liking to either one or the other? In all other regions, multiple political parties are fielding their candidates for the elections. Why only candidates from a single political party in Gambella and Tigray? This is not a healthy indication; it is rather a political mishap that needs to be corrected. The people of Gambella and Tigray should be allowed to exercise their democratic rights – cast their votes to a party of their choosing. It should not be just one political party which they endorse willy-nilly. They should be allowed to see two or more political parties contest in their regional states. We hope circumstances will improve in the 2010 national elections.

With lots of love and respect!

Tizibt M.S.

Tizibtm@yahoo.com

The opinion stated in the articles submitted to EthiopiaFirst (EF) are those of the writers and not EF or the publisher of EF.