"NEBE
is conducting the contested result investigation in a good manner
and [with] professionalism under difficult circumstances,�I myself
participated in one investigation in one area to see how it worked.
It was a fascinating and unique process as no other country in the
world has gone through the same process like here."
Tim Clarke, the head of the European Union mission in Ethiopia. [See
Ref. 1]
When
political parties participate in democratic election of a given
country the first objective is to win the thrust of the citizen and
form a legitimate government. Otherwise, the alternative is to
become a loyal opposition in the parliament
��loyal not to the specific policies of the government, but to
the fundamental legitimacy of the state and to the democratic
process itself.� [See Ref. 2]. Not only winning or loosing of
an election, parties should be prepared for the post election
realities of a democratic process as well. The winning party has the
mandate of the people to govern based on its vision of the country
in terms of the foreign, agricultural, economic, defence, etc
policies. On the other hand, the looser party has the responsibility
to accept the verdict of the people and be prepared to be an
opposition in the parliament to strengthen the country�s
democratic process. Therefore, participating in democratic election
is not a guarantee to be a winner in the process but a noble
opportunity to contribute to the development of a viable democratic
system of the country. On the other hand, democratic election can be
a yardstick to measure the discrepancy between the perception of a
political party about the problem and solution of a nation and its
citizens and the reality on the ground. If the discrepancy between
the perception and reality of one party is close to null relative to
other party (parties), that party will be the likely winner in the
process. Basically this means the perception of the party is close
to the reality of the nation than the other contestant parties. On
the contrary, for the loser party democratic elections are
indicators its perception of the country is not close to the day to
day problem of the citizens. In effect democratic election gives the
loser party a chance to rectify its mistake adjust its perception to
the reality of the country and come back in the next democratic
election as a strong contestant while remain strong opposition to
the current government.
In
case there are claims of vote fraud and irregularities, democratic
election should have a room and a mechanism in which parties can
appeal to concerned body for investigation. The process of
investigation of irregularities guarantees the respect of the vote
of citizens. In such instance all the parties should agree in the
process of investigation and composition of members of the
investigation body, etc. As the investigation process is not
creating new vote but investigating already cast vote of the
citizens, parties should be ready to accept the outcome of the
investigation. However, the process of investigation can not
continue indefinitely or a party can not continue to refuse the
judgement of the people until it is pronounced the winner of the
election.
Following
the 3rd Ethiopian Election and complaints by both the
ruling party and the opposition about vote irregularities and
rigging, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has been
conducting an incredible job. The process of investigation comprises
of members from the ruling party, the opposition and international
observers. Under difficult circumstance, the NEBE has been doing a
superb job in strengthening the countries democratic systems and
institution. The EU representative to Ethiopia Mr Tim Clarke
has described the whole investigation process as ��
no other country in the world has gone through the same process like
here.� Such kinds of statements make all of us proud of what
Ethiopia has achieved in the last fourteen years. However, having
said that we have to agree that there should be an end to the
investigation process. We can not afford to have a non-ending
investigation process. As the self-contradicting writers from the
Network of Ethiopian Scholars (NES) wrote �We
never recall an election result that has taken this long. It is
still not certain if and when the election result will be announced,
and whether the defeated would concede to the victors, and the later
will treat with civilised courtesy the parties ostensibly
defeated.� [See Ref. 3]. We demand the process of
investigation should be completed with a reasonable definite period
of time and the official result announced and the winning party form
the next legitimate Ethiopian government. However, some people and
political parties are still calling for re-run of nation wide
election and for re-investigation of the investigation. May be next
time we might hear a re-re-investigation of the re-investigation,
re-re-run of the election etc. A non-ending story! One of such group
of people are the Network of Ethiopian Scholars. One time they
complain that the election took long time [See. Ref. 3] and when
NEBE is finalising the result they wrote the following �� long
time now that the NEB will approve and award the required two-thirds
majority to the ruling party on a delayed silver platter��[See
Ref. 4].
In
their recent article entitled �How
to deal with regime defiance of vote and voice: the hard choices
confronting Ethiopia�, [See Ref. 4] the NES propose two
alternative in case the outcome of the May 15, 2005 Ethiopian
Election is unacceptable to the oppositions: re-election
or national reconciliation. These
alternatives are proposed to elongate the process of election which
the NES themselves already described as �The
Longest Election Result in the World�. In my view these
alternative by themselves are irreconcilable and can not be applied
to a society at a given stage of political development. The idea of
re-election presupposes democratic systems in which citizens
participate in decision making and have right to chose whom they
want and the latter one is applicable to a society which has just
emerged from a struggle against oppression and tyranny. If we
take the concept of re-election, the idea presupposes a sort of
democratic system (highly developed or young democracy) and a
process of democratic election, while the outcome is unacceptable to
one or more parties for different reasons. In a re-election, we
assume the existence of the three characteristics of the democracy
outlined by NES: a) the form of social and political participation
in decision-making, b) an instrument of hearing that helps to direct
the people�s demand to their claim and needs and c) help society
to develop. Therefore, there is a relationship between government
and individual citizen in decision making in a democratic system.
The authors from NES themselves in one of their previous article has
testified about the 3rd Ethiopian Election as follows
�For the first time in this country�s history, the people of
Ethiopia freely came forward after hearing the debates in the
election to vote for the party of their choice on May 15, 2005. We
consider this to prove a historical landmark in the country�s long
history.� [See Ref. 5]. This statement of NES clearly shows
the existence of the three characteristics of democracy in Ethiopia.
In the 3rd Ethiopian Election the people of Ethiopia
fully participated in a free and fair manner. Both the ruling party
and the opposition accept part of the result and filed complaint for
those that are rigged. The NEBE following the complaint made an
investigation and made a decision. Democracy demands that we have to
accept the decision of NEBE and move forward.
Now
let see the second alternative proposed by the NES to the democratic
outcome of the 3rd Election, national
reconciliation. National reconciliation apart from democratic
systems presupposes systems of government and society that has just
emerged from one or other form of class struggle. Reconciliation
is defined as a profound process of dialogue between conflicting
parties, leading to the recognition of the �other�,
and respect for his or her differences, interests and values,[See
Ref. 6]. There are many examples of national reconciliation in many
part of the world of which South Africa is the most outstanding one.
In the current Ethiopia there are no conflicting parties except for
different views that political parties have. The current government
has recognized long ago it is in the best interest of the country to
have a viable opposition party. In today Ethiopia there is an
environment conducive for citizens to exercise their democratic
right. In addition the opposition parties also recognized the
existence of a legitimate government in Ethiopia and agreed to play
by the rule of the game. Since long time ago, the ruling party has
greed to respect, though not agreed to the idea of the opposition
parties, the difference of views and interest of the oppositions.
Therefore, the idea of a national reconciliation government is out
of question in the current Ethiopia. In addition the process of
reconciliation requires different steps such as a) acknowledgement
past wrong doings b) taking responsibility for past crimes and c)
forgiveness. Ethiopia today is not in the same spot as South Africa
right after the end of apartheid in which the white should
acknowledged and took responsibility for their terrible wrong doing
and the oppressed blacks forgive the oppressor. By no means in today
is Ethiopia there comparisons and even parallel with the end of
apartheid in South Africa. In today Ethiopia there is no wound to
heal by forming a reconciliation government. We have been in process
of democracy for fourteen years and we had conducted the 3rd
Election which is the sign that our democratic systems is maturing.
In
conclusion what we need is to be ready to accept the verdict of the
people. There is no need for re-investigating the investigation, to
call a new re-election or to have a government of national
reconciliation. What need is to respect the vote of the people in
the 3rd election and move forward to solve the
country�s problem.
References:
[1].Ethiopia's
PM meets poll rivals. BBC News Online News at https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4727619.stm
[2].U.S.
Government international information program at https://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/whatsdem/whatdm5.htm
[3].
Ethiopia�s future in the next five years: Seize the moment and
seize the time. By NES at https://www.tecolahagos.com/nec_release8.htm
[4]
How to deal with regime Defiance of Vote and Voice: The Hard Choices
Confronting Ethiopia. By NES at https://www.tecolahagos.com/press_release10.htm
[5].
Open Letter to the G8. by NES at https://www.aeup.org/new/static/Letter_G8.htm
[6].
Truth commissions and national reconciliation: some reflections on
theory and practice. By Charles O. Lerche III at https://www.gmu.edu/academic/pcs/LERCHE71PCS.html
