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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Aug 19 2010 - 12:27:53 EDT
Ethiopia Faces Era Of One-Party Rule
Peter Heinlein | Addis Ababa
19 August 2010
Ethiopia's 2010 election all but wiped out the country's once vibrant
political opposition. This means that Ethiopia faces the prospect of
one-party rule for the foreseeable future.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi categorically rejects characterizations of
Ethiopia as a one-party state. Speaking to reporters last week, he likened
the Horn of Africa nation to Japan or Botswana, where opposition groups
operate, but one party dominates the political landscape.
"Ethiopia is not moving towards a single-party system," said Zenawi. "It
can, with some credence, be said that it is a dominant party system, but
there is a fundamental distinction between a dominant party system and a
single-party system. The democratic system in Japan has been a dominant
party system for half a century, but it has not been a single-party system."
Opposition parties do operate in Ethiopia. There were more than 160
opposition members from half a dozen parties in the last parliament. For
last May's elections, many opposition groups banded together to form Medrek,
or the Forum, in hopes of mounting a strong challenge to Mr. Meles's
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front.
Other Parties Effectively Marginalized
But in an election criticized by observers for lack of transparency and
failure to live up to international commitments, Medrek was swept out of
parliament. Even though Medrek candidates received about 30 percent of the
vote nationwide, they won only one seat in the 547 seat chamber, finishing
second in almost every one of the "first past the post" contests. The EPRDF
and its allies won 545.
Medrek's leader, Gizachew Shiferaw, calls the election a sham that reveals
the ruling party's intention to stay in power at all costs. He rejects Mr.
Meles's comparison with Japan, and says Medrek is adopting a strategy of
peaceful struggle similar to the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.
"We are going to challenge the EPRDF," said Gizachew. "The Forum exists to
change the oppressive political environment, and that will be our political
agenda. This is a peaceful struggle. One has to learn the struggle
instituted in South Africa. It may take time, but we think we are on the
right road."
Jailed Leader Becomes Symbol
Gizachew likens Ethiopia's jailed opposition leader, Birtukan Mideksa, to
South Africa's Nelson Mandela as a symbol of peaceful struggle.
Birtukan, a charismatic former judge, was sentenced to life in prison after
being convicted of provoking demonstrations protesting the EPRDF's victory
in the last national elections in 2005. The United States and human rights
groups list her as a political prisoner. Gizachew says greater
international pressure is needed to win her freedom.
"Birtukan has become a national as well as international political figure,
and I don't think you can simply lock (her) up in a prison and allow her to
stay there. Because now there is an international movement," said Gizachew.
Prime Minister Meles, however, has been adamant in refusing to consider
freeing Birtukan. He says her imprisonment is a judicial matter. At last
week's meeting with reporters, he recalled a recent speech in which he
announced a package of measures aimed at reconciling differences with
political opponents.
"I'm sure you remember me telling you releasing Birtukan was not part of the
package," said Meles. "It was not part of the package then, it is not part
of the package now, and it will not be part of the package tomorrow. This
is a purely legal issue, and it is between her and the law. No one can come
between the two. No one. Not opposition parties, not our friends abroad."
Defending the Opposition's Defeat
Prime Minister Meles made no secret of his contempt for Medrek, suggesting
its members oppose Ethiopia's constitution. Without mentioning Medrek by
name, he called the defeat of such groups "a step toward stability."
"The 2010 elections have prepared the ground for a stable democracy in
Ethiopia," said Meles. "Only those countries that have succeeded in
marginalizing anti-constitutional forces by democratic means, only by
marginalizing them by democratic means, have countries been able to
establish stable democracies."
A moment later, the prime minister seemed to suggest he was referring to
Medrek, saying there was no place for the group in a planned dialogue with
opposition parties on the country's future.
"We have tried to engage the opposition," said Meles. "I have talked to the
leaders of the opposition, other than that of Medrek and the All Ethiopia
something movement. Those that are prepared to engage with us, I have
already talked to them."
Election Review Report is Delayed
With the 2010 election in the history books, the only detail remaining is
the verdict of a European observer mission on the conduct of the vote. A
preliminary report issued immediately after the election questioned the
fairness of the process, but a final draft expected in July has been delayed
without explanation.
Prime Minister Meles, however, dismissed the EU report in advance. "I don't
know even if the European report is late or not. I've not really been
interested in the report. We have seen a glimmer of what it might look
like, and what we have seen is bad enough, and so we are not interested any
more in the full package as it were."
The next national election is still five years away, but both winners and
losers in the 2010 vote are looking ahead to a generational shift. An EPRDF
congress next month is expected to endorse a host of fresh faces in what Mr.
Meles describes as a "comprehensive reorganization of government."
The Ethiopian leader previously said he would retire in 2015, when his next
term in office expires. By then he will have been in power nearly a quarter
of a century.
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