A Taste of Democracy

Ø 1) Read the text and answer the questions:

a) When were the freest election held in Ethiopia?

b) What is the population of Ethiopia?

c) Who owns all the land in Ethiopia?

d) Why was the first opposition candidate in Lalibela always walking on foot during the election campaign?

e) Was the election campaign carried out without any incidents?

f) What does the economy of Ethiopia depend on?

At elections on May 15^th, 2005 Ethiopians wereoffered a real choice. Opposition parties fielded more candidates than ever before. The state broadcaster aired proper political debates. Foreign observers were welcomed. A week before the vote, oppo­sition supporters - maybe more than a mil­lion - were allowed to march in Addis Ababa, the capital.

It was the freest election ever held in Ethiopia, though that is not saying much. In the past 3, 000 years, the country has spawned great civilizations, but nothing resembling a modern democracy. Only a few years ago, it was under the grip of a regime, whose leaders thought mass starvation a useful tool both for crushing rebellious tribes and for eas­ing overpopulation.

Since 1991, Ethiopia has become a less harsh and more open soci­ety. With 71m people, Ethiopia is by far the most populous coun­try in the bottom tenth of the un’s Human Development Index, a composite measure of poverty, ill health and basic education. In 2004, it was ranked 170th out of 177.

Now, Ethiopia is doing better. Do­nors believe that with more help (Ethiopia already gets $1 billion a year, excluding food aid), the country could take off.

With aid, however, comes scrutiny. Do­nors prefer their clients to be democratic, and Ethiopia is imperfectly so. The ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People’s Revolu­tionary Democratic Front (eprdf), enjoys vast powers of patronage. The state owns all the land in Ethiopia. Peasants are there­fore reluctant to upset anyone in a position of power for fear of being evicted, and some 85% of Ethiopians are peasants.

One of two newly formed opposition groups, the Coalition for Unity and De­mocracy (CUD), offered a liberal alterna­tive: campaigning, among other things, for land to be privatized. It did well in cities, winning all 23 seats in Addis Ababa, but has found it harder to sway rural voters.

Lalibela, a small town two days’ drive north of Addis, saw a typical campaign. The first opposition candidate in the area canvassed on foot because he had no car. With some polling stations as far as 95km away, however, he could not reach everyone. An old salt-seller in Lalibela’s market told The Economist that he did not know who the candidates were. He said he would ask for advice at the polling station.

The opposition complained of harass­ment and vote-buying, particularly in the countryside. Human Rights Watch (HRW), a pressure group, says that repression and intimidation in Oromia, the country’s larg­est region, rendered the vote there a “hol­low exercise”. HRW claims that torture and arbitrary arrests, aimed at crushing a local revolt, have also silenced peaceful dissent. Teachers have been made to spy on students, local officials have been made to spy on peasants and suspected “trouble­makers” have been prevented from receiv­ing public services, such as medicine. The minister of information dismisses such allegations as smears.

Vote-counting continued until June 8^th, but the ruling coalition was confident enough of having swept rural ar­eas to declare victory on May 16th. Two days later, the CUD reported that on the contrary, it was on course for a famous vic­tory. The Prime Minister has banned ral­lies in the capital for a month.

Which side is really more popular is hard to say. The EPRDF gets credit for hav­ing ousted the old regime, and for delivering schools, roads, water and electricity to many over the past decade. But the lack of secure property rights has hindered the de­velopment of larger, more productive farms. A year of poor rains still translates into millions of people needing food aid and a contraction of the whole economy. Irrigation is still rare, and the proportion of Ethiopians living in absolute poverty has fallen only slightly-from 45.5% in 1996 to 44.2% in 2000, according to the IMF. Over the past two years, however, the rains have been good and the economy has re­bounded, growing by over 11% last year.

Ø 2) Give definitions to the terms: an opposition party; political debates; democracy; rebellious; coalition; liberal; a voter; a polling station; vote-buying; to hinder.

Ø 3) Express your opinion on the election campaigns in your country.