Ethiopia -The undemocratic elecotral system
By Hibret Selamu
May 27, 2005 — It is well known that Ethiopia is presently structured along ethnic lines, a situation akin to the apartheid system in the vicious old days of South Africa.
The on-going election process unfolding in Ethiopia yields an abundant evidence that unquestionably demonstrates the prevalence of an apartheid system in Ethiopia. For this, you only need to have a look at the election results presented by the Ethiopian Election Board on its website: www.ElectionsEthiopia.org (see footnote for details).
One of the so-called regional states within the current federal structure of Ethiopia is the Harari Killil which is estimated to have a population of 200,000 of which only 9,000 (less than 5%) are Aderes who reside in the “Jegol Medebegna” area while the remaining majority of 191,000 (comprising people from various other Ethiopian ethnic groups) is located in the “Jegol Zuriya and Hundene” area both within the same Killil (locality).
The Board’s election result shows that a parliamentary seat is to be reserved for an Adere who is elected by 3,266 Aderes (registered Adere voters: 5,516) within the Jegol Medebegna area while the vast majority of the Killil’s residents having registered voters numbering 58,182 living in the Jegol Zuriya and Hundene area will also have a solitary parliamentary seat voted for by 15,244 residents. The only other comparative situation is the case of another lopsided election in Benishangul Killil, Bulen district in which a parliamentary seat is to be allocated to a person elected by only 1,355 voters in a nation of 75 million people!
Such is the state of “democracy” in the present days of Ethiopia!
That is not all. Despite the Aderes’ miniscule number relative to the total population of the “Killil”, the current regime’s apartheid system has facilitated their total power monopoly on the regional state’s governance. Typical to the apartheid system, the minority Aderes are subjecting the majority to abuse of power including a great deal of corruption, injustice and incompetence. A clear evidence of this predicament is the fact that for some years now, Harar which is surrounded by abundant water resources, does not have a water supply system, thanks to the total ineffectiveness and inefficiency of the Adere leadership. What is even more disturbing is the fact that according to the present Ethiopian constitution, this tiny group of Aderes could veto any amendment such as the proposed reforms aimed at achieving an improved parliamentary representation.
Numerous decent Ethiopian Aderes are embarrassed, appalled and even disgusted by the current obviously unjust and undemocratic system. One of them has in fact written a book condemning the whole setup. The opportunist Aderes who are engaged in perpetuating the odious abuse of authority should give heed to his advice lest they incur the wrath of the majority sooner than later. They should know that the current injustice cannot continue and that their days are numbered.
The odious apartheid system in Harer and elsewhere in Ethiopia should be done away with forthwith!
– Note: To access election data in the Harari Killil, go to www.ElectionsEthiopia.org, click on “election results”, then click on “Harari”, then click on the constituency for which you require data.
*Hibret Selmu is an Ethiopian living in the U.S.