Election
Ethiopians to Go to Polls in June 2021 Ethiopia is one of the few African countries which has a very long history of constitutional practice. However, its experience on holding a multiparty election is not that aged as its constitutional practice.
Source: wantedinafrica.com Ethiopia is one of the few African countries which has a very long history of constitutional practice. However, its experience on holding a multiparty election is not that aged as its constitutional practice. In 1995, Ethiopia was able to hold the first multiparty elections in its history after two decades of military dictatorship and civil war. Henceforth, Ethiopia held five general elections. Those elections featured mixed characteristics in terms of competitiveness, fairness, and their level of public participation. Few of them showcased unprecedented participation by opposition parties and independent candidates and an unmatched level of political debate in the country. However, most of the past elections in Ethiopia had been characterized by the dominance of the ruling party-EPRDF. Following the 2015 general elections, which once again experienced the complete domination of federal and local powers by the ruling party, Ethiopia got into a political turmoil that created a huge threat to the constitutional order of the country. Many argue that the absence of a diversified representation of ideas in the parliament was among the causes of the violent protest that erupted across the country and finally led to change of government due to the resignation of the then Prime Minister of Ethiopia, H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn. In April 2018, H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali became the chairman of the ruling party and Prime Minister of the country. Since taking office, the Prime Minister initiated many reforms. In the political sphere, the reforms mainly aimed at widening the political space and build a solid institutional and legal foundation for enhancing the democratization process by amending the existing laws and regulations and introducing
10
The Ethiopian Messenger
new ones. Furthermore, the government of Ethiopia has initiated profound reforms to establish a free and fair electoral system. To this end, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has been reorganized in a manner that enables it to conduct a transparent system. The Board has revised the electoral law, paving the way for an election that is transparent, free, peaceful, democratic, and acceptable by the people. The Prime Minister has also appointed Ms. Birtukan Mideksa, a former oposition party leader and a political prisoner, as Chairperson of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, a move that demonstrated the government’s commitment to create a participatory and inclusive system towards making the upcoming elections free, fair, and democratic.
