On the very day Ethiopia’s ruling party
“You yourself should respect the law,”
The case of nine journalists and bloggers
Prosecutors have yet to present any evidence of illegal activity against the Zone 9 defendants, who say they merely exercised their constitutional right to freedom of expression. Wabella’s frustration is symptomatic of a generation of politically engaged Ethiopians who have no faith in the ballot box and are wary of expressing dissent through other channels in a country that is regularly criticised by
The latest landslide at the ballot box means that Ethiopia will be ruled until at least 2020 by the
The opposition lost in all 23 constituencies in Addis Ababa last month, including the one seat they had won in 2010. Local newspaper reports suggest the EPRDF increased its share of the popular vote by 10% to 64%.
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s government says it has delivered economic development and stability, but critics maintain this has come at the cost of human rights.
Yilkal Getnet, leader of opposition rising star the
Getnet says the opposition’s plan is to push for “freedom first” rather than challenging the government’s policies.
Abel Asrat, an online entrepreneur who is politically independent, said the Blue party shrewdly capitalised
But the party, which was formed in 2012, now needs a more substantial and moderate programme, he said. “The vast majority of the voters are in the middle. You have to focus on them rather than those that have made up their mind.”
With more than 2 million Facebook users in
Blue party spokesman Yonatan Tesfaye said he was encouraged by the “huge” support the party received in the May vote. Now it wants “dialogue with the government on reforming election and press laws in order to create a fairer environment”. If that doesn’t work, “it will be up to people to come out and confront repression,” he said.
There are tentative signs that some ruling officials recognise a need for change: privately, individuals fret at the lopsided results produced by the party’s ruthless efficiency and the first-past-the-post system.
Getachew Reda, a special adviser to Desalegn,
The most significant challenge to the EPRDF’s domination came in a 2005 vote, when an opposition coalition made significant gains in urban areas. The results were disputed, and thousands of people
The government said the opposition was trying to use violence to force an unconstitutional change. It enacted laws to restrict dissent and began to solicit investment for projects such as roads, universities, low-cost apartments, hydropower dams and sugar factories.
Since then, electoral politics has presented a dilemma for the opposition, which participates in a process it calls undemocratic. Some observers say the opposition must work within this narrow political space to build from the grassroots, aiming to make gains first in local elections in 2017. In addition to the federal parliament, the EPRDF holds almost all other elected positions in the country.
Beyene Petros from the Medrek coalition, the main opposition party, disagrees, arguing that peaceful resistance is necessary to “push this group to the negotiating table on levelling the electoral landscape”.
The idea of urban disobedience forcing change is anathema to the EPRDF, which styles itself as the party of the rural masses.
“The suggestion for every political actor is therefore to stick to the hard but the possible and relevant political path available, ie the formal democratic way,” he wrote in
Some opponents agree that new leaders won’t change systemic problems. What is needed is a shift to more consensual politics that accommodates Ethiopia’s diverse viewpoints, said the critic on social media, who did not give his name.
Asrat, the entrepreneur, is pessimistic about the chances of change or of increased political engagement, given the EPRDF’s entrenched dominance. Could social media activists like him ramp up the pressure?
“I think my own fate would be like [that of]