Council for a Community of Democracies

Concerns Grow Ahead of Ethiopian Elections
February 3, 2010
By: Benjamin Russell

Human rights groups and opposition leaders are claiming that political repression and strong-arm tactics from Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s Ethiopian Peoples Revolution Democratic Front (EPRDF) are threatening to undermine the legitimacy of this May’s national election, according to Reuters.

Members of the EPRDF, in power in Ethiopia since 1991, have denied the allegations and asserted their commitment to the democratic process. “We have an internationally accepted code of conduct for…the political party activities. International observers…(have) already been invited to observe our election,” said Sekou Toure, an EPRDF official.

Still, questions remain over the efficacy of the steps the EPRDF has taken to ensure a smooth election. According to Aklilu Wendaferew of the Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political Prisoners in Canada, the “Election Code of Conduct” to which Toure referred “lacks the basic elements which facilitate free and fair election and a level playing field for the groups that are party to the agreement [and]…may even impede the possibility of national reconciliation in the country.”

Wendaferew pointed to several shortcomings of the code of conduct, including the absence of an enforcement mechanism to guarantee political rights and a lack of inclusivity in its development. He noted that the major opposition coalition, MEDREK, did not participate in the code’s creation.

Opposition members have been jailed and denied “political space,” according to a Human Rights Watch report. Leaders of the opposition say they were blocked from providing food aid to Ethiopian citizens in an effort to force them to join the ruling party.

Observers believe the 2010 elections could be a pivotal moment for Ethiopian democracy, according to the Ethiopian Review. They will be the first since the disputed 2005 elections that sparked widespread protest and a government crackdown that resulted in the deaths of over 200 and the incarceration or disappearance of thousands more.

Sources:

Ethiopian Review - Ethiopian election 2010 and its challenges

Reuters – Ethiopia says “election repression” report lies

AllAfrica.com – Ethiopia: 2010 Election and Zenawi’s New Game

VOA News – Ethiopia Ruling Party Official Says May Election Will be Credible