Hold on to your horse TPLF Gambino crime families: you are outlaws wanted by the people

October 7, 2015

by Teshome Debalke

Carlo Gambino, the boss of the Gambino family from 1957–1976. Melse Zenawi the boss of TPLF Gambino family from 1991-2013

You can’t help but feel sorry for TPLF Gambino crime families and their henchmen. They are all over the map to figure out how to thwart the democratic movement to sustain their racketeering ring with all kinds of diversion. Running out of option; Growth and development became the last-hope-against-all-hope to sustain their mob rule.

Like all organized mob they stop on noting that maintain their illegitimate power grab and day-light robbery of our people.

Ethiopians understand the infamous late TPLF Gambino crime boss Melse Zenawi put them up with the revolutionary racketeering ring to make the henchmen irrational enough to go in rampage like a kangaroo that stumbled in someone’s home. It seems; TPLF Gambino crime families act untouchable like the original Gambino crime families that attend Sunday prayer service in the morning and kill on their way to breakfast and go on family outing in the evening to celebrate their crimes and warm up for the next week’s crime spree all over again. Read more...

Source:http://ecadforum.com/2015/10/07/hold-on-to-your-horse-tplf-gambino-crime-families/

TPLF/EPRDF Makes a Mockery of Judges’ Decision to Release Semayawi Youth by Over-riding Court Verdict

July 1, 2015

SMNE Press Release | Washington, DC

Not only are Ethiopian elections a farce—reconfirmed by recent regime claims of a 100% victory in the May 24, 2015 national elections—but so is the independence of the judicial system. This mockery of justice was shown when police re-arrested four young members of the Semayawi opposition party [Blue Party} after they were released from court. This happened not once, but three times, despite the fact they had already been freed each time by the court. They remain in jail as of today.

Weynishet Molla, Ermias Tsegaye, Daniel Tesfaye and Bethlehem Akalewerk had been arrested, jailed and beaten on April 22, 2015 after being charged with creating violence and disturbing the rally the EPRDF had called in response to the ISIS killing of 30 Ethiopians in Libya. Following their fourth arrest and jailing for the same incident, a security agent revealed that “someone at the top” of the ruling party opposed their release.

The three courageous, fair-minded judges who sat on the bench in this case, attempted to carry out their duty according to the law on the books. However, it is another example of how judicial outcomes are manipulated to serve the interests of the ethnic-based Tigrayan Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the coalition government of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

Weynishet, Ermias, Daniel and Bethlehem had been arrested, jailed and beaten on April 22, 2015 after being identified as leaders among those rallying that day. During the rally, numerous demonstrators strongly condemned the EPRDF, believing the ethnic-apartheid system, its brutal repression, and the related lack of opportunity for the majority were the underlying reasons so many Ethiopians put their lives at risk, hoping for a better life outside the country. Those murdered were among those in harm’s way. Fearing that this blame and discontent could grow in intensity during the rally, the TPLF/EPRDF prepared for a possible backlash. They devised a plan to identify and crackdown on the most outspoken anti-government participants.

Allegedly, the regime recruited many of the homeless or jobless persons on the streets to assist them in targeting opponents of the regime by paying them money to identify those demonstrators who displayed anti-government behavior or rhetoric. They supplied them with ink markers in three different colors to literally write on the clothes of these targeted demonstrators. The most outspoken, powerful, or influential leaders were to be marked with the color red, while followers and supporters were to be marked in black and less outspoken protestors in another color. The police were thereby alerted to those blaming the regime. These demonstrators were then stopped, harassed, interrogated and often arrested.

During this process, regime intelligence officials also collected the names, addresses and phone numbers of approximately 658 people. Many Semayawi Party members as well as others were arrested, jailed and beaten. They are in different jails throughout Addis Ababa and have been charged in different courts. Weynishet, Ermias, Daniel and Bethlehem were said to be among those arrested and beaten.

The case of these four was heard in court on Monday, June 15, 2015. The three judges on the bench decided they should be released, saying that the prosecutor was not able to give evidence of a crime or explain the reasons for the charges made against this group. One of them, Ermias, was able to bring a witness who gave him an alibi that he was not present in the place where he was accused. He was released.

The court said that since Weynishet, Daniel and Bethlehem were not able to give an alibi, the court would convict them with the crime of disturbing the rally, with the penalty of six months in prison; however, since they had already been in prison since late April, the court counted the two months in lieu of further time and ordered their release. On their way home, the police arrested them again and put them in jail. They had to appear in court again that same day; however, the same judges refused to hear the case, saying they had already judged them and nothing more would be done. They were again released and went to their homes.

On June 23, 2015, the police came to their homes and again arrested them. They were jailed and brought back to court that day. The judges asked why they were brought back to court and the police said they had new evidence against them pertaining to the original case. The court again rejected the basis and released them, but as soon as they left the building, the police re-arrested them again and threw them back into jail.

On June 25, 2015, all four of them were again brought them back to the same court. The judges once again refused to accept the new evidence on the same charge despite pressure from the police. They told the police they had already decided on this case and that the file was closed. The police claimed they had new evidence against them related to the charges and this was the reason they wanted to charge them again for the same crime. Again the judges stated, “We have decided on the charges; sentencing is done and we are not going to see this same case again.” They were released for the fourth time. Again, the police ignored the court’s decision and took the young people back to the 6th Police Station where they now remain.

According to reports we received, the police indicated that “someone from the top” wanted these young people jailed for six months or longer. We also later learned that the “new evidence” they claimed to have consisted of comments made by one or more of the four when they were rearrested for baseless reasons on June 23rd. Supposedly, they told the police: “No government lasts forever and when this one goes, we will get you” [like you are doing to us now].
Justice does not exist in Ethiopia and this is an example of it. The judges, who attempted to carry out the rule of law in a just manner, were undermined at every point by an upside-down judicial system that confers impunity based on ethnicity, loyalty to the TPLF/EPRDF and subservient compliance. Conversely, this is a politicized system where someone at the top can control the outcome to serve their own interests—regardless of the law or either the innocence or guilt of the accused.

In a democratic country, once a judge makes a ruling on a case, it can be challenged only by appealing to a higher court, but once the verdict is decided in the highest court, it cannot be changed. How different is this abuse of the judicial system in Ethiopia where the obstruction of justice has become blatant and shameless; showing how little concern there is for accountability. Donor countries should condemn the TPLF/EPRDF rather than reward them by overlooking the corruption of the legal process. Neither should they arbitrarily pick and choose who [which countries or leaders] they confront based on self interest; remaining silent when it is an ally and displaying outrage only when it is a more unfriendly country. It is wrong and becomes a threat to world peace as people become increasingly desperate under tyranny of this kind.

These judges stood up for what was right in an environment where it is not commonly done. Ethiopians who love their country are also within the ranks of the police, security system, the military and the TPLF/EPRDF. At some time they may also be sickened in their hearts and souls by this injustice. We strongly believe people can change and that we the people of Ethiopia, with God’s help, can build a better society for all of us. A few power holders at the top are now in charge of our future because Ethiopia has become a place where justice does not exist.

Outsiders expound on Ethiopia as being a successful model of development and economic growth; but in truth, much of it is a sham. Where it does exist, most Ethiopians are shoved aside from its benefits which are instead bestowed on the basis of ethnicity and TPLF/EPRDF party links. Even foreign corporations must toe the line with the TPLF/EPRDF if they want sustainable businesses within Ethiopia.

Where can the regime go from here? Can the TPLF/EPRDF win by a greater majority at the next election? How can you top 100% of the vote? One small group of people within one ethnic group dominates everything, a recipe for disaster. Sooner or later, if these shortcomings continue to be ignored rather than addressed, its collapse may be harder and all of us will suffer all the more for it—not only Ethiopians.

The world is already dealing with the symptoms of Ethiopia’s deterioration in terms of the floods of refugees. Why are they leaving? Everything is going wrong in the country—from the lack of democratic institutions, the rigged election, lack of any political space, the repression of freedom and rights, the rising numbers of political prisoners, the rigid control of the flow of information, the limitations on economic growth when monopolized and corrupted by the ethnic-based ruling party, and now, another example of the miscarriage of justice in the courts at the whim of someone at the top of the TPLF/EPRDF. This is a scenario that could explode if not handled properly, not only by Ethiopian power-holders and the people, but also by donor countries.

The arrest of these young Ethiopians began with the national outcry of our people, grief-stricken following the brutal beheadings of their fellow-people in Libya. They joined tens of thousands of others who were outraged by the killings, believing the regime was responsible for driving the young from the country. Weynishet, Ermias, Daniel and Bethlehem were rounded up for saying the truth out loud—that the injustice and ethnic-apartheid system of the TPLF/ERPDF was largely to blame for the death of these thirty Ethiopians at the hands of ISIS by making them vulnerable to dangers they would otherwise never face. Even uncivilized societies know the meaning of government and justice more than this dictatorial regime that still unashamedly claims themselves to be a government of the people.

This is the so-called democratic Ethiopia that US President Barack Obama will be visiting at the end of July. This is the Ethiopia that former US State Department Deputy Wendy Sherman portrayed as a democratic country that was getting better and better with each election. This is the Ethiopia being portrayed as a model for Africa. It is time to speak the truth—Ethiopia is critically ill and if its illness is ignored, denied or not carefully treated and contained; it could spread beyond its borders. The TPLF/EPRDF is in the business of pretending, but pretending is to no one’s advantage, including theirs. It will only make recovery all the harder or its implosion, all the more devastating and far-reaching.

May God help Ethiopians have the will and courage to face the challenges ahead, for the sake of all of us.

===========================

For more information, contact Mr. Obang Metho, Executive Director of the SMNE. Email: Obang@solidaritymovement.org

source:https://ethiobergen.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/219/

Ethiopia: TPLF’s Deformed Democracy

June 1, 2015

TPLF’s Deformed Democracy: Competing with Themselves and Winning
by Essey Zeleke

“If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” When you only have a gun in your tool box, you tend to see everyone and everything as a threat to your very existence. The May 24, 2015, “election” was a giant step backward for the development of electoral democracy in Ethiopia. The election drama concocted by the TPLF is nothing more than a fraudulent and futile exercise to legitimize the illegitimate. It was an endeavor marred by gross violations of citizens’ rights and doesn’t even stand the scrutiny of bare minimum benchmark of electoral process. By its very nature, the TPLF stands in stark contradiction with the basic tenants of democracy, which include freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and respect for the rule of law. How can one expect the political space to be open and fair under such circumstances? Throughout its existence, the TPLF has broken all the sacred tenants of democracy and freedom. Exclusive, extremely violent, and relentlessly committed to dividing and polarizing the public, it has neither the aspiration nor the principled interest to foster democracy in Ethiopia.

The TPLF’s election drama is in the same league with North Korea’s “election” fiasco: one party rule, one candidate, an electoral body created and run by loyal party cadres. When one combines all of these elements, the result is a twisted and deformed version of democracy.

Naturally, authoritarian regimes are no friends of democracy. In fact, they loathe and fear it. Guaranteeing citizens the right to choose their government in a free and fair political competition is against their political agenda and vision. Most importantly, ethnic political parties, like the TPLF, see the emergence of inclusive democracy as an existential threat to the very agenda they promote, which is polarization and division. Their insular and exclusive political consciousness lacks both the intellectual and emotional knowledge to critically understand the nature of broad-based, inclusive democracy, let alone to implement it. In their deformed political world, they develop a narrative that only satisfies their own minimum understanding of freedom and democracy.

Electoral democracy in its actual form is rooted in a competition whereby all competing parties have a level playing field. They have unrestricted and equal access to inform the public about their platform and vision with no harassment or intimidation from anyone. Such transparent political space guarantees, ultimately, that it’s the electorate that decides who should govern. Under the TPLF’s “election”, however, this fundamental principle is non-existent. The TPLF, like many other guerrilla groups who came to power through the barrel of a gun, see their battlefield victory as a permanent and transferable asset that applies to every form of competition, be it political or economic. Admitting defeat in a peaceful and non-violent political competition is considered a denigrating loss to the distant past military victory. The only lens for accessing and evaluating all completion is a through the binary lens of military loss and defeat. It is for this primary reason (mind set) that the TPLF refused to accept the result of the 2005 election, when it was widely defeated. In the end, it declared a state of emergency and deployed a deadly force, killing hundreds and arresting tens of thousands of citizens.

This mindset is clearly demonstrated in the re-enactment of past military victory during the recent election campaign (as reported by Ethiomedia). This enactment has multiple purposes and implicit and explicit messages. First, it is to communicate/remind the public that they are not willing to relinquish power through the electoral process. “Anyone who is thinking otherwise must think again.” Second, for the TPLF and the likes, there is no difference between military victory and electoral victory. The first reinforces the latter. Political psychoanalysts call it “time collapse”: the idea of reactivating and projecting past events into the present such as battlefield or war. In these circumstances the primary objective is not necessarily for the purpose of memorializing or remembrance. Instead the underlying motivation is to blur the time line between the present and the past and to reinstate the past anger and hate against some groups. The other reason for reactivating the past is to play the role of ‘victim’ and ‘hero’ characters. In the reactivation both the ‘victim’ and the hero appear simultaneously. Each side however is exploited for different purposes, the ‘victim’ is played to garner sympathy and support while the ‘hero’ is played to project strength and power. The third objective is to hypnotize the public through the blurred lens of the past and the present so that their woe’s and injustice suffered under TPLF appear in the past.

To embrace electoral democracy, a significant shift in consciousness is required. First and foremost the ability and willingness to play by the rules is a prerequisite. One cannot be a neighborhood bully and embrace a free and fair electoral completion. Accepting a defeat in a peaceful and non-violent arena is the highest form of political maturity and growth. At this stage TPLF doesn’t have either of those qualities. TPLF has grown vertically and horizontally, but it spectacularly failed to grow-up.

source: https://esseyzelekejustice.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/ethiopia-tplfs-deformed-democracy/

Guard killed as Ethiopian fighters storm border post

 A Kenyan guard was killed and Moyale District Hospital stormed when Ethiopian forces and members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) exchanged fire at the border point near the Meteorological Department at 1a.m. yesterday. Moyale OCPD Thomas Atuti identified the deceased as Boru Huka, a 55-year-old guard at Full Gospel Primary School. The national government immediately said the OLF militia group was not in Kenya. Marsabit County Commissioner Peter Thuku later said, “The Ethiopian fighters were in Illeret and at Sololo and Moyale on several occasions. I have relayed the message to the headquarters. This problem will be dealt with from Nairobi, but there is a real concern about forces crossing into our country.” According to Abduba Wapo, Huka’s colleague, shortly after the gun fight that lasted hours, armed men in uniform rushed into the school. “I hid behind the gate. They broke the fence and grabbed Huka then shot him several times in front of the school gate,” Abduba told The Standard on Sunday at the scene before recording a statement at Moyale Police Station. He said some attackers spoke Oromo. See also: Cyprus police probe Israel link in ammonium nitrate haul -media At about 3a.m., the same uniformed men stormed Moyale District Hospital and harassed patients and staff. The heavily armed men are said to have gone through the wards brandishing firearms. They could have been looking for injured Ethiopian rivals. “I saw about seven men armed with rifles enter the maternity ward and harass patients,” Nuria Kasa, a nursing officer, said. “When I asked the watchman what was happening, he said the group had broken the gate and marched into the hospital.” The group left bullet holes in the nurses’ quarters. Moyale DCIO Ayub Bakari said he had collected several cartridges from the scene and within the hospital compound.

Area Deputy County Commissioner John Cheruiyot said investigation is ongoing and they will release full details of the incident later in the day. The incident came four days after Ethiopian security personnel allegedly disarmed a Kenyan police reservist in Uran Lataka, about 100km from Moyale Town. Bakari said a rifle and 60 bullets were lost in the Tuesday incident. Ethiopians had also invaded Illeret ten days ago and two days later marched into Uran in Sololo District of Moyale Sub-county.

Source: standardmedia.co.ke

The Chutzpah of the TPLF Foreign Minister and his criticism of Israeli ‘police brutality’

May 11, 2015

by Alem Mamo

The headline on Jewish Business News reads “Ethiopian Foreign Ministry expresses concern over ‘police brutality’ in Israel and ‘years of discrimination of Ethiopian Israelis’.”  When I saw the headline initially I thought it was some kind of joke written as a satirical column. However, as I read through the article, I realized that in fact it is actually a serious piece by Ynet Columnist Itamar Eichner.

The Israeli government often gets a whole host of criticism and condemnation, and rightly so, for its policy vis-à-vis the rights, safety and security of the Palestinian people, or for the lack of social and economic mobility of Ethiopian-Israeli Jews who came to Israel through the Aliyah. These criticisms, most of the time, originate from those who abide by and respect the basic tenants of freedom, justice and appreciation for the sanctity and dignity of human life. What I found startling and what forced me to gasp at this story is that the criticism and the demand for an explanation came from the ruthless and authoritarian regime managed and operated by TPLF. It is beyond audacity for a regime to speak of ‘brutality’ and ‘discrimination’ by Israeli police while subjecting the people of Ethiopia to terror and brutality for more than two decades. This kind of audacity doesn’t even register on the Chutzpah chart. Inbits blatancy and irony, it defies even the fundamentals of public relations stunt.

First and foremost, the TPLF regime has stripped Ethiopian citizenship rights of those who acquire another citizenship. Effectively denying people of Ethiopian origin (including Israelis of Ethiopian origin) from participating in the political discourse of their country of birth. The obvious reason for this, as is well known, is that vast majority of members of Ethiopian diaspora does not support or ally itself with the TPLF regime. Thus, blocking the political participation of the members of Ethiopian diaspora by denying them citizenship is a political strategy to minimize the potential electoral power of opposition groups.

In the 2003 Proclamation on Ethiopian Nationality, No. 378 of 2003 that offers detail to the Ethiopian Constitution Article 6 on Citizenship, the regime explicitly stipulated, “Ethiopian citizenship is only allowed to be retained or
acquired if the individual does not possess or acquire the citizenship of another country.”2 Given this fact the TPLF regime does not have the legal mandate or right under international law to speak on behalf of those it calls ‘foreign’.

In fact, the TPLF seems comfortable meddling in the internal affairs of a sovereign state in this case the state of Israel. This is perhaps an indication of the utter ignorance of the elites of TPLF and their unfamiliarity with the law they have promulgated, let alone the international law surrounding citizenship and the responsibility of the state. There was a ‘story’ I was told long ago, and it goes like this: When TPLF entered Addis Ababa the leadership and the foot soldiers realized that Mengistu Hailemariam had fled to Zimbabwe prior to their entry. Their immediate response was “why don’t we continue our military operation on to Zimbabwe until we capture or kill him.” They had to be reminded that, first, Harare is 4311 Kms from Addis Ababa, and second, they have to enter the sovereign territories of three African countries before they get to Harare.

Secondly, the TPLF regime doesn’t have an inch of moral ground to stand on and criticize the human rights record of the Israel government or Israel police force. Human Rights Watch in its 2015 World Report summed up its assessment of TPLF regime – “The Ethiopian government during 2014 intensified its campaign of arrests, prosecutions, and unlawful force to silence criticism, Human Rights Watch said in its Report. The government responded to peaceful protests with harassment, threats, and arbitrary detention, and used draconian laws to further repress journalists, opposition activists, and critics.”

Amnesty International further elaborates in more explicit language outlining the brutality and lawlessness of TPLF security apparatus: “In April and May, protests took place across Oromia region against a proposed “Integrated
Master Plan’ to expand the capital, Addis Ababa, into Oromia regional territory. Security services, comprising federal police and military Special Forces, responded with excessive force, firing live ammunition at protesters in Ambo and Guder towns and Wallega and Madawalabu universities, resulting in the deaths of at least 30 people, including children. Hundreds of people were beaten by security service agents during and after the protests, including protesters, bystanders, and parents of protesters for failing to ‘control’ their children, resulting in scores of injuries.”

There are a slew of reports from global and national human rights organizations detailing the suffering and injustices the people of Ethiopia facing under the rule of TPLF. Almost all Ethiopians inside and outside the country do not see the TPLF as the guardian and protector of their rights and freedoms. In fact the opposite is true; the primary threat to the Ethiopian people is the Gestapo like security apparatus of the regime. It perpetrates almost all of the human rights violations in the country.

The behavior of the government is demonstrated clearly in the recent demonstrations initially called by the regime in response to the ISIS beheadings of Ethiopian migrants in Libya. The demonstration turned into a rallying cry
against the government itself. It must have been apparent to those present why these young men left Ethiopia in the first place, as so many have in the past two decades.

Human rights violators cannot be human rights defenders. The TPLF regime wants to have it both ways. It is also apparent that the Ethiopian people and those who stand on the side of the oppressed and marginalized are not buying it.

The author can be reached at Alem6711@gmail.com.

Source: http://ecadforum.com/2015/05/11/tedros-adhanoms-criticism-of-israeli-police-brutality/

More than 50 Oromo students arrested by Ethiopia’s TPLF regime in Ambo, Oromia; 20 being tortured

The following is a statement from the Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA)

Ethiopia: The Endless Violence against Oromo Nationals Continues

Fear of Torture | HRLHA Urgent Action

For Immediate Release

May 7, 2015

Harassment and intimidation through arbitrary arrests, kidnappings and disappearances have continued unabated in Ambo and the surrounding areas against Oromo youth and intellectuals since the crackdown of last year (April 2014), when more than 79 Oromos, mostly youth, were killed by members of the federal security force.

According to HRLHA correspondents in Ambo, the major targets of this most recent government-sponsored violence were Ambo University and high schools Oromo students in Ambo town. In this incident, which started on April 20, 2015, more than 50 university and high school students were arrested; more than 20 were severely beaten by the security force and taken to the Ambo General Hospital for treatment.

Although it has been difficult to identify everyone by their names, HRLHA correspondents have confirmed that the following were among the arrestees:

Those who were badly beaten and are being hospitalized in the Ambo General Hospital:

According to HRLHA reporters, the arrests were made to clear out supporters and members of the other political organizations running for the 5th General Election to be held May 24, 2015. The EPRDF, led by the late Meles Zenawi, claimed victory in the General Elections of 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010. The TPLF/EPRDF government of Ethiopia has started a campaign of intimidation against its opponents. Extrajudicial arrests and imprisonments, particularly in the regional state of Oromia, the most populous region in the country, began late October 2014.

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) expresses its deep concern over the safety and well-being of these Oromo nationals who have been arrested without any court warrant, and are being held at police stations and unknown detention centers. The Ethiopian government has a well documented record of gross and flagrant violations of human rights, including the torturing of its own citizens, who were suspected of supporting, sympathizing with and/or being members of the opposition political organizations. There have been credible reports of physical and psychological abuses committed against individuals in Ethiopia’s official prisons and other secret detention centers.

HRLHA calls upon governments of the West, all local, regional and international human rights agencies to join hands and demand the immediate halt to such extrajudicial actions against one’s own citizens, and the unconditional release of the detainees.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to the Ethiopian Government and its officials as swiftly as possible, written in English, Ahmaric, or your own language. The following are suggested:

– Indicate your concern about citizens being tortured in different detention centers, including the infamous Ma’ikelawi Central Investigation Office; and calling for their immediate and unconditional release;

– Urge the Ethiopian authorities to ensure that detainees will be treated in accordance with the regional and international standards on the treatment of prisoners, and that their whereabouts be disclosed, and

– Make sure the coming May 24, 2015 election is fair and free

– Read the Full Statement (HRLHA)

Source:gadaa.com

Ethiopia: The Election That Isn’t

by Yoseph Badwaza

Program Officer, Africa

Ethiopia’s upcoming national elections on May 24 are the first to be held since the 2012 death of longtime Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who presided over a highlyrepressive political system that decimated the country’s independent media and civil society. Initially, there was a guarded hope that the ruling party—the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF)—might ease restrictions and allow some level of competition, in order to appease growing discontent with its authoritarian rule and maintain stability within its own ranks.

However, this hope has been dashed over the past year, as EPRDF has cracked down on dissent and used its thorough control over state institutions to cripple the opposition and block any threat to its 24 years of entrenched political dominance.

Control of the media and public discussion

The space for public dissent has long been constrained by a host of draconian laws, media censorship, and aggressive prosecutions. But the government signaled its intent to silence any remaining criticism ahead of the 2015 elections in April 2014, when it arrested six members of the Zone 9 blogging collective along with three journalists and charged them with terrorism-related offenses. (Later that year, security forces detained and raided the homes and offices of four prominent young opposition leaders who had just begun holding leadership positions in their parties and gaining popularity on the national stage. They too are facing terrorism charges.) The attack on independent media continued throughout 2014, leading more than 30 journalists to flee the country as several of the publications they worked for were shut down amid criminal prosecutions.

Meanwhile, EPRDF exercises absolute control over state media and numerous party-affiliated outlets, allowing it to dominate public discussion. As voters head to the polls on May 24, they will not be informed by any national debate on competing policy platforms. Instead, the extent and scope of the political discourse has been framed months in advance, presenting EPRDF’s “developmental democracy” model as a panacea for the economic and social woes facing the country.

Marginalization of opposition parties

EPRDF blatantly uses institutions of the state to block and undermine the activities of opposition parties. Its near-total control of the federal and regional legislatures has for years denied opposition parties a prominent role in lawmaking and government oversight that would allow them to build public support. Even local councils have been rendered effectively out of reach for the opposition since 2008, when EPRDF changed electoral rules to increase the size of each kebele (the lowest-level administrative unit) council from 100 to 300 seats. As a result, during the latest local and municipal elections in April 2013, the well-resourced EPRDF fielded more than 3.5 million candidates, winning a similar number of seats throughout the country, while some beleaguered opposition parties managed to field only one candidate.

It is worth emphasizing that such local administrative structures are the primary tools for maintaining EPRDF’s dominance, as they are linked to a network of operatives that reaches down to the household level in both urban and rural settings. Moreover, municipal officials across the country routinely deny permission for opposition rallies, and police forcibly disband and arrest peaceful protesters, playing a crucial part in suppressing dissent.

Given this virtually uniform control of federal, regional, and local government bodies, the stage is set for a repeat of the 2010 elections, in which EPRDF claimed to have won 99.6 percent of legislative seats nationwide.

Manipulation of the electoral system

As part of its preparations for the May 24 elections, EPRDF coordinated a massive voter registration effort with local government operatives, essentially ruling party officials, who went house to house urging citizens to register to vote during the 50-day registration period. Local officials employ a mix of threats and promises to woo largely apathetic voters, particularly in urban centers. Less than three weeks into the registration period, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) reported a 127 percent rate of voter registration in the Somali region, where an active counterinsurgency operation is being conducted and past elections have been delayed due to security concerns, casting further doubt on the credibility of the entire process.

EPRDF also mobilized its extensive network of state and party operatives to make sure that opposition efforts to reach constituencies met with a multitude of administrative barriers and politically motivated red tape. In February, the NEBE went out of its way to delegitimize popular leaders of the opposition Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party by exploiting its internal disputes. As a result, prominent UDJ leaders, including a sitting member of parliament, lost their platforms to run as candidates. Instead, the EPRDF-controlled election board promoted a hitherto unknown faction within UDJ and installed them as the new leadership of the party.

With independent civil society crippled as a result of restrictions imposed by the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSP), voter-education and election-observation activities have also become the exclusive domain of the NEBE and EPRDF-affiliated “mass associations.” Ethiopian “civil society” election observers deployed under the auspices of the NEBE in 2010 quickly declared those elections “free, fair, and democratic,” even as an EU Election Observation Missionconcluded that they were “marred by a narrowing of political space and an uneven playing field” and fell short of international commitments for a free and fair election. In what appears to be an attempt to forestall similar criticism in this election cycle, EPRDF has started downplaying the role of international observers very early, repeating the mantra that the elections need to be credible only to the Ethiopian people.

An orderly formality

The May elections are set to be held against the backdrop of multiple terrorism trials of dissidents who were thrown in jail for expressing their views, a divided and persecuted opposition that must simultaneously campaign and struggle for its very survival, a muted international response to EPRDF’s growing repressive measures, and the absence of credible international election observers.

All technical aspects of the elections, from voter registration through casting ballots on election day, may proceed without any major flaws. But the election environment is nowhere near conducive to a free and democratic expression of the will of the Ethiopian people. Instead of providing Ethiopians with the opportunity to freely engage in political discourse and nurture a genuine multiparty democracy, the elections have been reduced to a mere formality for extending EPRDF’s iron grip on power for another five years.

Analyses and recommendations offered by the authors do not necessarily reflect those of Freedom House.

Source:freedomhouse.org