The 2005 Ethiopian Elections: Millstone or Milestone?

Résumé

Ye’Netsanet Goh Siqed: Liqelebes Ye’Temokerew Ye’Ityopia Demokraci [As the Dawn of Freedom Breaks: Ethiopian Democracy Imperiled with Derailment] by Berhanu Nega. Addis Ababa (Kaliti Prison), 2006, 615 pp.

Democracy is ultimately about the sovereignty and political equality of citizens, and the institutions of accountability that are undergirded by a culture of respect for the rule of law. If free balloting were the essence of democracy, the May 15, 2005 Ethiopian legislative elections are “foundational” enough to be hailed as a turning point in the making of Ethiopian democracy1. Bolstered by remarkably open electoral campaigns, the registration rate was high and some 90 percent of registered voters cast their votes. Many stoically endured long queues. Aspiring to full enfranchisement and free citizenship, the Ethiopian poor showed the world, is no monopoly of the rich...

The 2005 Ethiopian Elections: Millstone or Milestone?

Ye’Netsanet Goh Siqed: Liqelebes Ye’Temokerew Ye’Ityopia Demokraci [As the Dawn of Freedom Breaks: Ethiopian Democracy Imperiled with Derailment] by Berhanu Nega. Addis Ababa (Kaliti Prison), 2006, 615 pp.

Democracy is ultimately about the sovereignty and political equality of citizens, and the institutions of accountability that are undergirded by a culture of respect for the rule of law. If free balloting were the essence of democracy, the May 15, 2005 Ethiopian legislative elections are “foundational” enough to be hailed as a turning point in the making of Ethiopian democracy1. Bolstered by remarkably open electoral campaigns, the registration rate was high and some 90 percent of registered voters cast their votes. Many stoically endured long queues. Aspiring to full enfranchisement and free citizenship, the Ethiopian poor showed the world, is no monopoly of the rich...