የኢትዮዽያውያን ዴሞክራቶች ድረ-ገፅEthiopian Democrats' Website

By Kebour Ghenna

Source: Capital;

Will dissent be permitted? The answer to that question will determine whether the society is a free society or a fear society….Natan Sharansky

It’s an odd situation when a government intent on advancing democracy finds itself without opposition in parliament. Obviously this was not how the EPRDF expected the results of last May’s election to turn up, particularly at a time when it needed some feisty, if marginalized, opposition MPs to maintain the appearance of a democratic system. What a setback.

A setback for democracy that is! In truth not much has changed in substance since EPRDF’s advent to power 20 years ago, in that it has never relented dominating the parliament. The difference between the new parliament and the domination of the past years is that Western analysts may label today’s situation as ‘Retreat from Democracy’.

Against such a backdrop the EPRDF, in its victory, has shown certain magnanimity towards the opposition. And why not be magnanimous when basking in such total victory, after all the opposition has stood on a certain political platform, for certain political issues and the ‘majority’ of the electorate have considered these issues, these politicians and have rejected them at the polls. Of course when we see how things were stacked up against the opposition, how the EPRDF run its campaign, and the amount of resources it spent, the result should come as no surprise. Indeed, it [the EPRDF] was so anxious of a repeat of the 2005 fiasco that it severely restricted all political space to prevent it. In so doing something went askew, like a teenager who burns down his school so he won’t have to turn in his Math homework. He might have been in trouble before; now he’s in worse trouble. No wonder many skeptics speak of a single-party system, communist-era throwback and growing authoritarianism. Many still remember the consequences connected with a single-party parliament in our country.

That’s why it’s important for us all to avoid confusing parliament with democracy. The latter supposes the existence of a forum where we debate options, where the actions of the executive can be monitored, where broad principles are established and the life of society is defined. The existence of Parliament does not guarantee democracy but without Parliament there would be no democracy. The link is direct and logical. Thus when we question the future of Parliament we are also questioning the future of democracy.

Many in the EPRDF may argue that at the end, the essence of democracy is not in the number of parties represented in Parliament, or the number of seats held by opposition parties, but rather how the actions of a country’s government impacts on the daily lives of the people.

May be so, but our past experience and the experience of many others suggest that there could be no strong democracy without a strong opposition, or at least a free media, which we also don’t have. The strength of opposition is an essential element for measuring the quality of democracy. Every country has a government; only democracies have an opposition. Again, we know this much, a parliament without a formidable and recognized opposition is one that lacks democracy. Whether we like it or not, opinions, especially ones that concern the development of our people, need to be publicly expressed and debated thoroughly. By doing so, we honor the principles of open democracy that governs the modern day political sphere.

Thus, under a genuine democracy – which must be differentiated from many a so-called “people’s democracy” – political parties are indispensable to its functioning and the preservation of its nature.

Observe the use of the plural here - political parties - for where only one political party is permitted, there is neither constitutionalism nor democracy. There may be a republic, but it will certainly be a case of authoritarian pseudo-constitutionalism and pseudo-democracy if it be a one-party system of government. Authentic constitutionalism and authentic democracy require that there be an adversary system of political parties that operate freely in the interest of the public, their members, and their clients, but not a party that is a controlled instrument of the government.

Sadly, most government politicians have made “Opposition” a bad word in our two decade old democracy – The Opposition has not helped its cause either with its continuous squabbles and the often quite politically naive way it has sold its programs to the public.

So what’s next? Pretend all is OK? Tthat’s worrisome.

I don’t know what and how the politics of the country will change in the coming years, but I know it will not bring freedom or democracy to the country.

So why not rally our civil courage and go for real democracy, let’s press the opposition to first stop fighting amongst themselves and work for a party solid enough to oppose. Meanwhile they should also consider forming an alternative shadow cabinet to challenge government policies or a shadow parliament composed of, say, heads of opposition parties, former government officials, NGO leaders and activists to try to influence the political climate in the country, or serve as sounding board for the ruling regime.

Let’s urge the ruling party to conduct their deliberations without the Whip, in open sessions, for the full five year term! Since it is now inconceivable that the government would ever be defeated in a vote, why not have real debates, allow MPs to criticize policies, and vote according to their own conscience. After all elected backbench members of the EPRDF are capable of independent thought and may not always agree with some of the issues proposed by their frontbench colleagues.

Is this the kibour Gena who was former head of Ethiopian chamber of comerce?

He raised a true concern of a concerned citizen.