Ethiopia election: A sham or democratic rebirth?

Ethiopia is poised to hold what its prime minister calls the nation’s first attempt at free and fair elections, but it is taking place amid deepening insecurity, a boycott by some leading opposition parties, and the Tigray region being consumed not only by conflict but by starvation and the rising threat of famine, writes BBC Africa correspondent Andrew Harding.

This was supposed to be a defining moment for Ethiopia – an ambitious nation eager to reveal itself not simply as Africa’s rising economic powerhouse, but as a fast maturing democracy, finally making a decisive break from decades of authoritarianism and overtly rigged elections.

So, can Ethiopia pull it off? And might this election prove to be a “pivot” point for the conflict in Tigray, as the central government faces growing international pressure for a ceasefire?

It was back in 2018 that Ethiopia gave the clearest sign of its democratic intent in these elections, by inviting a former political prisoner, Birtukan Mideksa, to return from exile to chair the country’s overhauled electoral commission.

Exhilarating transition

How could anyone dispute this giant country’s determination to break with the past and hold free and fair elections, and, by extension, to cement Ethiopia’s dominant position in the region and beyond?

“We are in very good shape,” Ms Birtukan declared recently, of the commission’s lengthy preparations.

Her return reinforced the sense of a nation in the midst of an exhilarating transition – as political prisoners were freed from Ethiopia’s “gulag archipelago,” the media was unmuzzled, and a peace deal signed to end a long border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.

Ethiopia’s young Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, in part as recognition of his achievements, but also as a spur to further reforms in a country which – as many observers pointed out – would need delicate handling in order to prevent it fracturing into turmoil along ethnic lines.

That turbulence is not quite comparable to the break-up of the Soviet Union. But some of the same historic tensions and risks – of a once-ruthless Marxist state attempting to liberalise while still controlling potentially explosive internal tensions – were clear to many.

Two years later, and is it possible to argue that Mr Abiy’s ambitious reform agenda remains on track?

There seems to be little doubt that Mr Abiy and his new Prosperity Party – formed from the once-mighty ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) – will win a decisive victory at these elections, enabling him to claim a powerful mandate for his policy of “medemer,” or “coming together”.

Under that slogan, Mr Abiy appears keen to nudge Ethiopia away from the ethnic federalism of the EPRDF, and towards a more centralised state.

That likely victory will, almost certainly, be accompanied by rhetoric that looks to put Ethiopia’s current electoral challenges in perspective.

Warnings of famine

The government will argue that the failure to hold elections in war-torn Tigray is unfortunate but not debilitating, given that the region has only a small fraction of seats in parliament. Tigray can hold elections when the situation there has been stabilised.

International warnings about famine, the government insists, are simply wrong. Besides, it is reasonable to argue that the central government had to act aggressively against a rebellious Tigray in order to prevent larger regions from following suit.

There are major security challenges across much of Ethiopia – in Afar, the Somali region, Amhara, Oromia, Harari, Benishangul-Gumuz, South Wollo and elsewhere. Nearly two million people have been displaced by conflict outside Tigray.

The instability will affect registration, turnout, and the participation of some major opposition parties.

But again, the government and its supporters will argue, this election needs to be seen in proper context – as part of a broader, imperfect process of reform in a nascent democracy, with more than 50 parties already involved.