Most parts of the nation were calm last Sunday, as it was the day for local and city council elections. Even the busy capital of the nation witnessed relative serenity, atypical of its usual bustling nature. The city, which hosts the heights of national and continental politics, was quite in keeping with the official line: it is election day!
Yet, the fervour of the general public was very far from the election. Rather, it was focused on the daily dealings of life. If anything, the day showed that the general public preferred to remain indifferent to the dynamics of the political space.
Going out of their way, the coordinators of the election were seen knocking on the doors of the voting public, in an attempt to motivate them to go out and cast their votes. They even had the guts to check the thumbs of individuals who told them that they had already cast their votes. They were, indeed, very worried about the turnout of voters.
Of course, voter registration was equally demanding for them. It was only after multiple public mobilisation efforts that they registered a little over 30 million voters. The public passivity witnessed during the pre-election period seems to have served them as an important signal to multiply their efforts, in bringing voters to polling stations.
Although the soft side of the process faced challenges, the hard part evidenced historical success for the coordinators at the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), chaired by the celebrated 56-year-old veterinarian specialist, Merga Bekana (Prof). Governed by the strategy of getting the polling stations as close to the voting public as possible, the NEBE manned a total of 45,000 polling stations across the nation.
This is a profound achievement for Merga and his compatriots. Once considered a logistical impossibility, the expansion of polling stations has effectively brought the electoral process down to the local level. Certainly, this empowered the electorate so much so that queuing at the polling stations was a rarity.
A revitalised infrastructural preparation could not however infuse enough steam to the process. There was no boiling public sensation. People were unenthusiastic to cast their votes.
Indeed, much of the history has to do with the outcomes of the past four elections. In all of them, the dominance of the ruling EPRDF has been unchallenged. Even when it was, during the election in 2005, it did not last long. Thus, the active segment of the population lost interest in politics.
A fraction of the decline was visible during the election held in 2010. But, it was not as bad as last week’s, where utter passivity and disengagement were the lone traits of the public.
It all has to do with the predictability of the outcome. Whichever way the process evolved, the public was sure that the election would be another phase of political consolidation for the EPRDFites. There was nothing new to come out of it.
It is saddening that a political process, meant to be less predictable and to offer the occasional surprise, has ended up being conventional. What is even more distressing, is the fact that it is all happening, while the market of ideas is craving alternatives. No wonder, then, that a public that only had a single choice preferred indifference.
As far as the outcome goes, it certainly was a predictable one. There seems to be no surprise in the numbers. Once more, the EPRDF have dominance in the local and city administrative units. The only uncertain part of the equation is how the disengagement of the public might end.
With the dominance of the ruling EPRDFites and the disengagement of the public comes the progressive erosion of the democratic ambition of the nation. No democracy can thrive without effective public participation and a vibrant market of ideas. It is such vital elements. That the local political space is missing.
Through indifference, the public has sent a clear message to all political players and the NEBE’s election coordination crew. Eventually, the message has the power to define the shape of governance in the nation.
Effective governance brings leaders and the public closer. They not only work towards a common objective, but they also anticipate a common future. Whenever the government fails to live up to its promises, the public uses its votes to change it. And this is how the modern democratic process operates.
A deficit in either part of the equation, which involves governments, on the one hand, and the public, on the other, obviously has an impact on the sustainability of the nexus. The case with the democratic development inEthiopiais no different.
Even the ruling EPRDFites ought to worry about the declining activity of the public. A disengaged public equates to insufficient legitimacy to source the social contract to govern with. It also deprives policymaking of essential popular support. At stake for them is, thus, the responsibility of governing a nation, and its vital cities, without effective public support.
Surely, the problem has a lot to do with their own acts, since the electoral debacle in 2005. Eager to stay in power, they have considered how to effectively manoeuvre the electoral system of the nation, in order to support their own objectives.
One of their measures was to hang the fruit so distantly that the political opposition could not even dream to reach it. As a result, the number of people to be elected to a local council was bolstered to 300.
With the nation having 550 woredas – the smallest administrative unit – mobilising enough candidates became a pipe dream for the poorly financed, weak and fragmented opposition. It certainly is a nightmare for anyone but the ruling party.
One other factor played in favour of the ruling party in the latest election; the expansion of the poling stations. As the election approached the increase in the number of polling stations and the number of people casting their votes in a given station were significantly reduced. This provided the ruling party an advantage, both by multiplying the benefits of its outreach capacity and reducing the competitive advantage of its competent.
As a result of the reflex actions of the ruling EPRDF, the opposition are left at the margins, with no better choice than simply securing their existence. Hence, they were tactically forced to compete in an election whose result was predictable.
It is no different with the policy sphere. The election did not bring any debate on crucial policies. It went as if it was merely a simple administrative rearrangement.
Sadly, the democratic development of the nation is now at a cross roads. And, the responsibility of saving it lies on the shoulders of the EPRDFites.
It is not the time to rejoice. Cheering the numbers would not be the solution, as they tell only part of the story. What ought to be at the top of the agenda, however, is revitalising the political activity of the public.
Revitalising the activity of the public, by creating a vibrant market of ideas and an inclusive political space, ought to top the agenda of the ruling EPRDFites, regardless of the electoral results.
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