Friday 18 Jun 2021 @ 08:25
Chatham House
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Imperfect elections do not fortify Ethiopia’s transition

EXPERT COMMENT

With elections about to finally start, Ethiopia’s growing unrest and Tigray’s catastrophic conflict highlights an urgent need to build a political consensus.

Abel Abate Demissie summarises the election landscape in Ethiopia ahead of the polls scheduled for 21 June 2021.

Ethiopia’s current government is hoping gaining a new electoral mandate will give them the authority needed to pursue their reform agenda, which includes drafting a new constitution and potentially redrawing regional state borders.

This election represents the first true test for the ruling Prosperity Party (PP), led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, since it was formed in 2019 from the ashes of Ethiopia’s formerly dominant political coalition, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Originally scheduled for August 2020, the elections have been postponed twice – firstly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then recently due to logistical challenges and rising insecurity.

Even though voting is now going ahead, it is set to be delayed still further across huge areas of the country, including Tigray, and several leading opposition parties are boycotting the polls – leading many observers to fear that poorly run elections will actively worsen Ethiopia’s divides rather than heal them.

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Original article link: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/06/imperfect-elections-do-not-fortify-ethiopias-transition

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