The Future of Democracy in Ethiopia
In order to see what kind of democracy would reign in the future, there might be a need to decide what subtle factors have to be looked at. First of all the first requirement of a democratic system is to have a free election so that the people will be able to put in office those they believe will represent them. That being a novel idea, when we look at our country there could be problems that will deter this from happening. One of the problem is the level of the awareness of the electing public, a subject that had been touched many times and the effort should have contributed in making the people become more aware of the fact that if they want to be governed democratically, wishful thinking alone will not be enough, and literally they have to cover the required distance by educating themselves so that they would know how to exercise their rights democracy would readily avail to them. Since the Ethiopian public had been made aware of their inalienable rights many times, the expectation is that from one year to the other and from one election to the other, the kind of decision and choice they will be making should be better than the previous ones, ascertaining that at one point in time, it will be possible for them to be in an opportune position to make the right decisions and choices.
This is important when we look at what is happening in the country where, because of the fact that the rest of the public was not ready, a particular sector of the population, in stead of its small number and inclination had to be given the opportunity to run the affairs of the nation. There is nothing wrong with that except that it speaks loudly that the rest of the population has to cover a given distance within a reasonable time frame, to make themselves ready to be in charge of putting the right kind of representative government in office, in stead of someone putting together a government on their behalf that will be in charge of the day to day affairs of the country. There are merits and demerits when the situation is similar to what is taking place in our country. One of the important merits is it is possible to keep anarchy at bay and avoid becoming a disintegrated system similar to Somalia that is struggling to pick up the pieces after suffering a system breakdown. This means that even if there will be dissatisfaction and disagreement, at least there is a system that represents the country as a whole, since a given nation has to interact with other nations, as well as among different ethnic groups inside its own border in order to avail what it is needed to lead a normal life since what is at stake would be the social, economic, and the political well functioning of a given nation.
The demerit is the selected group in whatever form it is could take total control of the system and could start dictating its wishes, while at the same time taking advantage of the system wrongfully. When that happens a public that is disintegrated and is not ready to take charge of its own affairs into its own hand would not have much in a way of a decisive means to confront such a calamity. This kind of failure could be devastating in a nation such as Ethiopia where there are a good number of ethnic groups that have chosen to harmonize their living and working together since there is not a clear cut majority that will take charge and work for the interest a majority, while giving protection to the interest of the minorities. What is taking place in our country, because of lack of preparedness is some kind of a pyramid is at work, where those at the top are a member of a small ethnic group who could be working to advance their own interest since they know that no systematic opposition to retaliate any wrongdoing would not come their way, because again, there is the lack of preparedness in the nation, although it is changing and it should change steadily.
The other important aspect to pay attention to is the fact that when democracy is reigning in a given country the people will be free to participate in politics and civic life freely without fearing a frenzied administration at the top that could detain them for exercising their democratic rights, because it could be threatened since its priority might be to advance its own cause and has to do everything it can to prolong its grip on power. In reality, although what is taking place in Ethiopia might not be bad, because there are many sources in the country, as well as from outside that are keeping tab on what is taking place, there are still many complaints about many people being detained because of their political orientation, not to mention that there are ample proofs where known political figures had been detained and some of them could still be in detention as prisoners of conscience. This shows that the only remedy for problems like that is introducing a functioning democracy in the country as stated earlier, which is totally dependent on the preparedness of the public. If the public fails to prepare itself on an ongoing basis, there is not going to be anyone to blame, because naturally, everyone has their own interest to put forward, where it is only possible to put a check on such pursuit of self-interest when the whole nation is ready to be counted in.
The biggest problem in our country is there are different ethnic groups that are capable of forming their own country, since a nation such as Eritrea that only has around 5 million people had managed to do so. The reason why they were allowed to go ahead might be that they had demonstrated for the onlookers they have what it takes to be a nation, which means the public was ready to govern itself democratically. When we look at Ethiopia there are three major ethnic groups that have at least 20 million people each and their preference is to live and work together. That is their own choice and no one can impose their will on them. If there is a problem with such a stance it is that they have to be in a position to track if there are groups in the union that are planning to take advantage of the coalition and they have to have some kind of mechanism at their disposal to deter such self-centered drive if it is proven to be at work.
The other most important characteristic of a democracy is people have basic rights that no one should trample. In fact, the main reason why there should be a democracy in a given country is to protect the basic rights of citizens. In a country such as Ethiopia that is very much dependant on what it gets from the outside world, whether the nation is getting aid, loans, grants, or generate income by trading some its of produces or buy what it needs, it will be dealing with nations that abide by an international law and they will require the same from a partner, whether it is a trading partner or whatever form the partnership takes. When that is not the case, when they are made aware of the kind of abuse that is taking place, and the prevalent disregard for law and order in the country, if not immediately, in the long run they would work at severing any existing working relationship with such a nation. To avoid that the rights of all people should be observed where no group should work hard to advance its own interest such as staying in power for as long as possible. If there is anything that will put a check on such malfeasance, it is the awareness level of the people. Although the people might need some help in order to raise their awareness, the major work has to be done by themselves, where they will have to know that they have no choice other than joining the rest of the world that is enjoying a high level of living standard that is the outcome of hard work and systematic investment in time and resources.
The other most important feature of a democracy is the county’s laws should be upheld above anyone else, because laws are impartial and should not give a preferential treatment to anyone, especially in a democracy. Of course, if a given system is not democratic what would apply is those in power would manipulate the law for their own advantage and make it instrumental to pursue their own group interest. This will put others at a disadvantage similar to the complaints that are heard in our country, where the ruling class and its cohorts could be advancing their own interest at the expense of the other citizens. The only way to put a check on such self-directed drives and put a limit on their powers is by introducing a working democracy where laws will be observed and serve everyone’s interest equitably. As stated earlier for that to materialize there would be a need for the preparedness of the people, showing that it is the people who will make a big difference in a given country since governments are temporary service providers that will be replaced without even finishing their term if they fail miserably to meet the public’s expectation. If the majority of the people are satisfied with the system, there is no need to bring about change. If they are satisfied only because they do not know what their rights are, the blame again goes to their lack of preparedness a failure that could only be corrected by the people themselves, because it does not matter how much infusion is getting itself toward them, unless they put it to proper use it will not improve their situation.
Therefore, as usual, the main talk has started revolving around the coming election, and it had been a long time since we started talking about raising the awareness of the people since it is their vote that makes the difference, and this election would reveal how much homework the public had done when they elect their representatives to go to parliament.
This is important when we look at what is happening in the country where, because of the fact that the rest of the public was not ready, a particular sector of the population, in stead of its small number and inclination had to be given the opportunity to run the affairs of the nation. There is nothing wrong with that except that it speaks loudly that the rest of the population has to cover a given distance within a reasonable time frame, to make themselves ready to be in charge of putting the right kind of representative government in office, in stead of someone putting together a government on their behalf that will be in charge of the day to day affairs of the country. There are merits and demerits when the situation is similar to what is taking place in our country. One of the important merits is it is possible to keep anarchy at bay and avoid becoming a disintegrated system similar to Somalia that is struggling to pick up the pieces after suffering a system breakdown. This means that even if there will be dissatisfaction and disagreement, at least there is a system that represents the country as a whole, since a given nation has to interact with other nations, as well as among different ethnic groups inside its own border in order to avail what it is needed to lead a normal life since what is at stake would be the social, economic, and the political well functioning of a given nation.
The demerit is the selected group in whatever form it is could take total control of the system and could start dictating its wishes, while at the same time taking advantage of the system wrongfully. When that happens a public that is disintegrated and is not ready to take charge of its own affairs into its own hand would not have much in a way of a decisive means to confront such a calamity. This kind of failure could be devastating in a nation such as Ethiopia where there are a good number of ethnic groups that have chosen to harmonize their living and working together since there is not a clear cut majority that will take charge and work for the interest a majority, while giving protection to the interest of the minorities. What is taking place in our country, because of lack of preparedness is some kind of a pyramid is at work, where those at the top are a member of a small ethnic group who could be working to advance their own interest since they know that no systematic opposition to retaliate any wrongdoing would not come their way, because again, there is the lack of preparedness in the nation, although it is changing and it should change steadily.
The other important aspect to pay attention to is the fact that when democracy is reigning in a given country the people will be free to participate in politics and civic life freely without fearing a frenzied administration at the top that could detain them for exercising their democratic rights, because it could be threatened since its priority might be to advance its own cause and has to do everything it can to prolong its grip on power. In reality, although what is taking place in Ethiopia might not be bad, because there are many sources in the country, as well as from outside that are keeping tab on what is taking place, there are still many complaints about many people being detained because of their political orientation, not to mention that there are ample proofs where known political figures had been detained and some of them could still be in detention as prisoners of conscience. This shows that the only remedy for problems like that is introducing a functioning democracy in the country as stated earlier, which is totally dependent on the preparedness of the public. If the public fails to prepare itself on an ongoing basis, there is not going to be anyone to blame, because naturally, everyone has their own interest to put forward, where it is only possible to put a check on such pursuit of self-interest when the whole nation is ready to be counted in.
The biggest problem in our country is there are different ethnic groups that are capable of forming their own country, since a nation such as Eritrea that only has around 5 million people had managed to do so. The reason why they were allowed to go ahead might be that they had demonstrated for the onlookers they have what it takes to be a nation, which means the public was ready to govern itself democratically. When we look at Ethiopia there are three major ethnic groups that have at least 20 million people each and their preference is to live and work together. That is their own choice and no one can impose their will on them. If there is a problem with such a stance it is that they have to be in a position to track if there are groups in the union that are planning to take advantage of the coalition and they have to have some kind of mechanism at their disposal to deter such self-centered drive if it is proven to be at work.
The other most important characteristic of a democracy is people have basic rights that no one should trample. In fact, the main reason why there should be a democracy in a given country is to protect the basic rights of citizens. In a country such as Ethiopia that is very much dependant on what it gets from the outside world, whether the nation is getting aid, loans, grants, or generate income by trading some its of produces or buy what it needs, it will be dealing with nations that abide by an international law and they will require the same from a partner, whether it is a trading partner or whatever form the partnership takes. When that is not the case, when they are made aware of the kind of abuse that is taking place, and the prevalent disregard for law and order in the country, if not immediately, in the long run they would work at severing any existing working relationship with such a nation. To avoid that the rights of all people should be observed where no group should work hard to advance its own interest such as staying in power for as long as possible. If there is anything that will put a check on such malfeasance, it is the awareness level of the people. Although the people might need some help in order to raise their awareness, the major work has to be done by themselves, where they will have to know that they have no choice other than joining the rest of the world that is enjoying a high level of living standard that is the outcome of hard work and systematic investment in time and resources.
The other most important feature of a democracy is the county’s laws should be upheld above anyone else, because laws are impartial and should not give a preferential treatment to anyone, especially in a democracy. Of course, if a given system is not democratic what would apply is those in power would manipulate the law for their own advantage and make it instrumental to pursue their own group interest. This will put others at a disadvantage similar to the complaints that are heard in our country, where the ruling class and its cohorts could be advancing their own interest at the expense of the other citizens. The only way to put a check on such self-directed drives and put a limit on their powers is by introducing a working democracy where laws will be observed and serve everyone’s interest equitably. As stated earlier for that to materialize there would be a need for the preparedness of the people, showing that it is the people who will make a big difference in a given country since governments are temporary service providers that will be replaced without even finishing their term if they fail miserably to meet the public’s expectation. If the majority of the people are satisfied with the system, there is no need to bring about change. If they are satisfied only because they do not know what their rights are, the blame again goes to their lack of preparedness a failure that could only be corrected by the people themselves, because it does not matter how much infusion is getting itself toward them, unless they put it to proper use it will not improve their situation.
Therefore, as usual, the main talk has started revolving around the coming election, and it had been a long time since we started talking about raising the awareness of the people since it is their vote that makes the difference, and this election would reveal how much homework the public had done when they elect their representatives to go to parliament.
posted by Ethio-Probe @ 7:12 AM
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