Condemning every move of the government — will it pay?
A multi-party system is a system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition. Unlike a single-party system it encourages the formation of officially recognized groups known as political parties.
It was unthinkable to witness multi-party system in this country during the past regimes. Let alone forming a party that opposes the incumbent, citizens were at times brutally murdered for ‘voicing publicly failures of the government.
Consequently, all voices of dissent were stifled. Any form of opposition was out rightly equated with an act of treason. Political opponents were portrayed as anti-peace elements and enemies of the nation.
For instance, university and high school students who took to the streets of the metropolis to protest against the feudal regime were harshly treated and subdued by the security forces. Peasants who rose up against injustice in various parts of the country were also forcefully suppressed.
Similarly the military regime during its seventeen years oppressive rule murdered thousands of innocent civilians labeling them as subversive groups. Many others who dared to challenge the barbaric system perished mysteriously.
Opposition politics is therefore a relatively new phenomenon to this country. The country saw legally operating opposition parties for the first time in its history just 15 years ago. Opposition politics was legalized by the present government in 1994/95. Following that, a legal framework was set up requiring all political parties to get registered at the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE). Accordingly, several political parties came into being at local, regional and national levels.
Apart from facilitating conditions for the establishment of several political parties, the government has created a level playing field for all of them. Though the door has been wide open to the opposition so that they could promote their causes and engage actively in the democratization process their performance is dismally poor in this regard.
Political parties are expected to come up with viable policy options and strategies which they believe would help bring about socio-economic transformation and betterment in the lives of citizens. However, we are not lucky enough to get such parties. The public have very little knowledge of their manifestos as they consistently fail to make the public familiar with such vital documents. The presence of the opposition is only felt just a few weeks prior to election.
Likewise, we got a chance to refresh ourselves with their manifestos recently at a discussion forum organized by the Ethiopian Radio and Television Enterprise and the Ethiopian Press Agency. Several political parties introduced their programs focusing on economy and good governance. The views and policy alternatives forwarded by some were of course sound.
However, the writer of this piece observed criticisms based on unfounded allegations entailing gross distortions and words that belittle and undermine the positive developments in the country. In addition, there were comments and suggestions far from the truth and lofty promises that seem to be intended just for the election.
We all know land assumes pivotal position as far as the economy of this country is concerned. As a result of this fact the government in power attaches great care for the resource. Hence, it has made it public that the resource has to remain under the government. And this is not intended to take hold of the farmers’ possession, but to protect it from negative consequences associated with transfer of land to individuals. However, many of the political parties seemed intent onto putting ‘pressure’ on the government to change its stance on the matter by raising the matter as a topical issue time and again. The public is well aware of their wrangling on the matter with the government.
Here one thing that has to be clear is if the land policy entails trouble as they incessantly blame the government, it won’t be an easy task for the nation to produce hundreds of thousands of well to do farmers. We all know that this country remained deep under the abyss of poverty due to the absence of a clear and defined development policy. The government in power has however, designed and put into effect a clear and feasible development policy that primarily emanates from its land policy.
On the other hand, opposition political parties need to boldly compliment positive developments accomplished by the government and criticize wrongdoings. However, they are frequently seen discrediting the efforts of the government. For instance, during the discussion forum the representative of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) lambasted the construction of condominium houses in the country as “Condos are houses for the well to do.”
The public is well aware of the fact that this is not the case. As the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) representative put it explicitly the government has so far constructed and handed over about 33,000 condominium houses in the metropolis alone. Sources also reveal that some 85,045 condominium houses would be built this budget year throughout the country.
And most of the residents who got residential units are low-income ‘groups, of which some 30 percent are women. The long-term credit facilities arranged by the government in collaboration with the National Bank of Ethiopia are also a visible testimony that the government’s grand project is designed primarily to alleviate the housing problem of the low-income groups of the society.
Let me add one thing as far as this deliberate act of undermining positive developments in the country is concerned. It is obvious that our country has managed to maintain some 11.8 percent economic growth over the past four successive years. Apart from this, there is also a projection that the country has been well poised towards attaining some 10.8 percent economic growth this budget year.
However, we all observed how much this achievement is belittled by a member of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) when Prime Minister Meles Zenawi presented a report to the House of Peoples Representatives (HPR). According to him, “God Himself can not convince the public about the economic growth in the county.”
Unless the individual intentionally opted to avoid the truth, an ordinary citizen, let alone a member of the parliament, has full knowledge of the economic growth registered by the country. Of course it might have been overshadowed by the rising inflation. However, is has even been welcomed by international institution such as IMF and the World Bank.
The blame thrown on the government by All Ethiopian National Democratic Movement (AENM) on the discussion forum, however, mesmerized this writer greatly. The representative said, “…lack of good governance led to untold shock of life due to uncontrollable inflation in urban areas.” As we all know there are two core reasons for the present inflation in the country. One is the skyrocketing price of oil in the international market. And the other is the increase in the prices of food grain, steel, cement, and other commodities. So this is gross distortion!
Apart from this, we all know that the active participation of political parties in the politics of this country would play significant role in the ongoing democratization process. And political parties that claim to solve the problems of this country need to shoulder responsibility more than anything else. Opposition political parties should uphold this quality so as to advance their causes in a peaceful and democratic manner. The deadly civil disturbances and chaos that led to loss of human lives and property damage in the aftermath of the third national election are the failure on the part of opposition political parties to remain responsible.
Even if most of the political parties do have such quality, a few of them fail to operate under such rule. For instance, it is a pity to witness UEDF boycotting the election for intangible and unacceptable reasons only two days ahead of the voting day. Such a decision is not expected from a political party that claims to be senior in the political platform of the country.
To the surprise of many of us OFDM also withdrew from election after the successful completion of the first phase election. Here we need to thank UEDF as it had at least come to the decision before things have not gone too far. But if a party runs for office and decides to boycott in the middle of election when tallying is underway one cannot help describing this act as childish.
It is obvious that every political party has the desire to come to power. Nevertheless, power should not be considered as the ultimate goal. Rather it is a means to bring to light the grievances of the community they represent.
Therefore, the high vigor and spirit exhibited by various opposition political parties some weeks prior to the voting day could not avail full picture of the parties overall programs and policy alternatives to the public. Besides, lofty promises like the pledge made by some to reduce birthrates and subsidize farmers might help to get elected but could not go long distance.
All in all political parties need sometimes to look inside rather than always pointing their finger on the government. One thing they need to know is that as long as they are part and parcel of this society, they are accountable for whatever goes wrong in this country. They are also part of the solution but not the sole route to the solution.
