The Ethiopian People will make the upcoming fourth Ethiopian
National Election peaceful, free, fair and democratic
Yohannes Gebresellasie (PH.D) Canada
Elections are held once in three or four years in countries where
democratic processes and proceedings entrenched within the constitution of the
land is respected and in countries where fundamental human rights and
democratic values and norms are protected and safeguarded. The time frame of
elections depend largely and by enlarge upon the time frame put by the constitution of the land; however a bi-election
can also be called upon if and when some members of parliament vacate their
parliamentary sits for variety of reasons such as death, retirement, disciplinary
measures etc. The electoral law of Ethiopia stipulates that, bi-elections are
held where councils at different levels request the Board to replace council
members whose mandates are terminated due to various reasons; where a request
for recall lodged in accordance with the law is accepted. The Board shall hold
Bi-election in three months from the receipt of the request. Without prejudice
to the provisions of the above sub-articles no Bi-election shall be carried out
to a council whose tenure terminates after six months.
Generally, national elections have the ability and responsibility to
help shape public policy on both local and national level. An electoral system is not
rigid or static but rather it must continually evolve to meet new circumstances
and challenges with periodic reforms of a major nature and frequent tinkering
amendments to fine-tune some aspect of conducting elections. Citizens of a nation have the responsibility to become
actively involved in the democratic process of their country because without voter
involvement the process will eventually fail. Therefore, citizens need to be
aware of the fact that they can no longer gripe about the governments' issues
if they don't step up to take part in the voting process. In most developing
nations such as ours, most citizens don't understand the sacrifices that have
been and continue to be made so that every eligible citizen has the right to
cast his or her vote for the candidate or party of his or her choice.
Generally, most citizens take for granted the democratic system
that helps decide the direction that countries will go because of lack of
awareness. Having a voice in the political arena therefore means that citizens
have to be well informed about variety of matters of local as well as of national
interest. For that, citizens need to stay aware of their local as well as national
issues.
Democratic process is not an easy process to maintain; however, it
was set up to give citizens an opportunity to be
involved in the decisions regarding the running of their government. As Abraham Lincoln said, "Government of
the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the
earth." If we as People of this country don't fulfil our responsibilities
as voters, then we will become obsolete in the process and will again be ruled
over as subjects of the few in power. When elections are held in
countries that respect democracy, rule of law and guided by the rules and
guidelines drawn by the electoral commission, then the whole process can be
peaceful, free, fair and democratic. This means, the public at large will be
free to choose for candidates and the party of their choice without any
external influence from within or abroad.
Canada
is a typical example where peaceful, fair, free and democratic elections are
held even under conditions where referendums were at the top of the national
agenda. The federal nature of Canada underlies the country’s electoral system
as it does so many other aspects of political life. Each province has its own
electoral system, and there is a national electoral system for the federal
Parliament. Different systems have many similarities, but also significant
differences. Canada’s current electoral system is the result of cumulative
changes which have been taking place since the formation of Canada in 1867.
When elections are held in Canada, competing parties and independent candidates
strictly follow the code of conduct agreed by the competing parties and
independent candidates and the guidelines drawn by the electoral commission. Any
candidate or party that do not respect the given electoral rules, regulations and
guidelines can automatically be disqualified from the election. This firm stand
taken by the government helps every candidate or party to discharge its
electoral responsibilities with upmost discipline, respect for the other
candidate or party keeping in mind that all candidates are running an election
in order to serve the nation and the public at large and not simply themselves.
Here
at home, in few days, the country will conduct its forth national election. Every preparation has been finalized in that
regard and thus far, every indications show that the public at large has been
well prepared and is ready to cast votes for the candidate or party of its
choice. The pubic at large has taken a
lesson or two from earlier elections and currently, Ethiopians possess greater
political maturity with reference to electoral processes and proceedings. The
public at large is well aware of the significance of peace, stability and economic
prosperity. Also, citizens are well aware of negative and destructive phenomena
such as violence, intolerance, anarchy and lawlessness. The electoral code of
conduct that over sixty-five political parties agreed upon will help candidates
and political parties to be disciplined and all candidates, parties and the
public at large must be well aware of the code of conduct and all must adhere
to and follow the electoral law to make the upcoming election peaceful, free,
fair and democratic. In order to increase public awareness on the issue and
importance of the code of conduct, according to the Electoral Law of Ethiopia,
the following are the objectives of the code of conduct.
1. To promote tolerance in a democratic
electoral operation;
2. To foster free political
campaigning and open public discussion;
3.To enable the
conduct of free and fair election.
Any political organization or private
candidate must therefore respect, publicize, educate the electors and guide its
candidates, representatives and supporters to respect the code and take
necessary actions to realize it.
The
people of Ethiopia are saying enough is enough! They are saying that they need
and they deserve a peaceful, free, fair and democratic upcoming forth national
election. Most importantly, they are saying NO and leave us alone to those
inside and outside destructive forces that have made their number one agenda to
destruct and disturb the upcoming forth national election. However, the
Ethiopian people are determined to make the upcoming forth national election
peaceful, free, fair and democratic.