Ethiopia’s path to democracy is a “marathon rather than a sprint,” a prominent opposition leader has insisted, downplaying international criticism of a flawed election that has returned Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to power.
While international observers are still assessing the vote and local factions decry widespread systemic hurdles, Eyob Mesafint, leader of the Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice party, argues that focusing solely on the ruling party’s predictable landslide misses the bigger picture.
Mesafint conceded that the election was heavily flawed, detailing a laundry list of state overreach and suppression that his party witnessed firsthand during the franchise.
“According to our assessments, there were many irregularities,” Mesafint revealed. “There were harassments in some areas, there was intimidation in other areas, there were imprisonments in some areas, which, in our opinion, are hurdles for the democratization process.”
Yet, in a striking break from typical opposition rhetoric that completely rejects tainted outcomes, Mesafint defended the baseline legitimacy of the vote. He pointed out that elections were successfully held in 501 out of 547 electoral districts, arguing that a flawed process is an inevitable stage of a developing democracy.
“Democracy is a process; it’s not an event,” Mesafint argued. “We by no means are asserting the election that took place is fully democratic and fully without irregularities, but compared to the election that was held five years ago, there were many improvements. We take that as a win.”
Central to this cautious optimism was a massive surge in youth participation that caught political analysts off guard. Despite widespread pre-election fears of political apathy among the younger demographic, polling stations remained jammed from 06:00 CAT until midnight, with young voters waiting in lines for hours to cast their ballots.
The National Election Board’s final tally confirms that Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party has secured a commanding 438 seats, ensuring total dominance over the legislature. Voting was entirely suspended in Tigray and parts of Amhara due to ongoing conflict and severe security challenges.
While Mesafint’s party walked away with just 13 parliamentary seats, he maintains that the sheer civic appetite shown by ordinary citizens on election day proves the country’s broader democratic momentum remains alive.
–ChannelAfrica–
