Ethiopians: It Would Be Shame On Us From Now On, Not Anybody Else

May 30, 2015

by T.Goshu

1. As an introduction

Let me from the out-set make clear that the very purpose of this comment of mine is to express my genuine concern about the question of how we are willing and able to deal with the shame on us and move forward from now on. When I say from now on, I am referring to this “election” which is of course the very outcome of a well- orchestrated dirty political game by the ruling elites of TPLF right after the 2005 election. When I say shame on us, I am referring to the political culture of trying to deal with and solve the political challenge that keeps going worse with doing the same old way of doing politics

Is the TPLF Unintentionally Preparing the Ground for a Military Takeover?

Readers mayREMEMBER that I was recently involved in a dispute with Tecola Hagos over his article

 unjustly criticizing the conference on the Horn of Africa, organized by ESAT (seehttp://www.ethiomedia.com/100leads/4867). In addition to criticizing his assessment of the conference, my article disapproved his call for a military dictatorship. At the same time, I recognized the rationale that led Tecola to make such a baffling proposal. I noted that he had lost all hope in the possibility of the TPLF reforming itself, even as the necessity of reforms springs to mind in the face of mountingPROBLEMS and challenges. Meles’s ways of dealing with the problems of Ethiopia have become irrelevant, since they have only aggravated the problems instead of solving them

Ethiopia Elections 2015 Guide: No Western Observers To Monitor Vote Already Marred By Repression

May 22, 2015

The shadow of an opposition supporter is seen through an Ethiopian flag during a demonstration in the capital, Addis Ababa, on April 16, 2009. Reuters/Irada Humbatova

by Morgan Winsor | International Business Times

Several observers from the African Union have arrived in Ethiopia to monitor the East African country’s national elections on Sunday, which are shaping up to be anything but free and fair. There will be no international observers from Western countries, and this year’s vote is largely expected to have a similar outcome to the last polls, which were peaceful and organized but marred by reports of harassment, intimidation and fraud

Rights groups said elections in Ethiopia, would not be free or fair

May 23, 2015

(AP) Rights groups said elections on Sunday in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, would not be free or fair due to a clampdown on freedom of speech.

Ethiopia on Sunday holds its first general election since the death of long-time strongman Meles Zenawi whose successor, Hailemariam Desalegn, is almost certain to stay in office.

Over 36.8 million Ethiopians have registered to vote in what is seen by the international community as a key test of the state’s commitment to bringing greater democracy to the Horn of Africa nation.

Ethiopia: Onslaught on human rights ahead of election

May 23, 2015

(Amnesty International) The run-up to Ethiopia’s elections on Sunday has been marred by gross, systematic and wide-spread violations of ordinary Ethiopians’ human rights, says Amnesty International.

“The lead-up up to the elections has seen an onslaught on the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. This onslaught undermines the right to participation in public affairs freely and without fear as the government has clamped down on all forms of legitimate dissent,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes

Ethiopian Election: Aaargh! T-TPLF “Wins” Again!

May 23, 2015

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Congratulations are in order to the T-TPLF for winning a hard fought thuglection!

“Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason.”

But not in T-TPLF’s Ethiopia!

Poor Ethiopia is condemned to wear the Thugtatorship of the Tigrean People Liberation Front (T-TPLF) diaper for five more years, for a total of 25. That is a quarter of a century. Talk about a country with a super-duper streak of BAD LUCK.

Well!! First things first.  I should like to think myself a gentleman, a scholar, and an officer, of the court, that is. Even victors of rigged and phony elections deserve obligatory profession of homage.

Naturally, it is a matter of noblesse oblige for me. I should react with magnanimity and discreet charm in acknowledging T-TPLF’s crushing “election victory.”

about the "election":  "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO VOTES, IT ONLY MATTERS WHO COUNTS THE VOTES"!!!

http://www.ethiotube.net/play/no-western-observers-for-ethiopian-elections/

Marthe van der Wolf

May 20, 2015 9:55 AM

ADDIS ABABA—The onlyINTERNATIONAL observers during Ethiopia’s elections Sunday willBEfrom the African Union, with opposition parties already feeling the AU observers are not demanding enough in their criticism of Ethiopia’s election process, which is dominated by the ruling party.

Nine long-term AU observers (LTOs) arrived in April, and another 50 short-term observers arrivedLASTweek.

Former Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba, head of the mission, commended Ethiopia for being stable and peaceful even while located in a volatile region.

“The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia is appointed

Ethiopia and Horn of Africa Conference Resolutions

May 19, 2015

Conference Communique | Arlington, Virginia – USA

Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa: Prospects for Stable, Democratic and Prosperous Future

The Ethiopian Satellite Television and Radio organization (ESAT) in collaboration with Ethiopian academics and other notables hosted a successful two-day Symposium from May 9-10, 2015 on the theme “Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa: Prospects for a Stable, Democratic and Prosperous Future.” The event was represented by a cross-section of participants reflecting the tapestry of peoples, cultures, and diverse views of the region. The Symposium took into account the reality that the Horn of Africa is intertwined by geography, people-to-people intermingling, and economic interaction, religions and other shared heritages.

Ethiopia’s newest party (Semayawi) takes on ruling juggernaut

May 19, 2015

(Reuters) The leader of Ethiopia’s newest opposition party hopes discontent among urban youth will win him support in a weekend election that could otherwise be a clean sweep for the ruling party in Africa’s most populous nation after Nigeria.

Over 36 million people have registered for the May 24 polls, the country’s first election since long-serving leader Meles Zenawi died in 2012.

His Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has been in power for almost a quarter of a century, and faces no reasonable prospect of defeat – the current 547-seat parliament has just one opposition member.

Washington enables authoritarianism in Ethiopia

May 20, 2015

Blanket US support for the Ethiopian regime risks dismantling the country’s already beleaguered opposition

by Awol Allo | Al Jazeera

It was only two months ago during the Israeli election that the White House was scrambling to convince the American public that the United States does not intervene in the electoral processes of other democracies.

“This administration goes to great lengths to ensure that we don’t give even the appearance of interfering or attempting to influence the outcome of a democratically held election in another country,”

Ethiopia: Restrictions on freedom of expression will hinder free and fair elections

May 20, 2015

(ARTICLE 19) On 24 May 2015, Ethiopia will hold its fifth national elections and the first since the demise of the late long-serving Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Campaigns officially end on 21 May 2015 and the final result will be announced to the public on 22 June 2015.

The data which ARTICLE 19 has collected through its monitoring activities over the past year shows a sustained onslaught on freedom of expression and freedom of association. This suggests that the elections are unlikely to be free or fair.

Read the full analysis here