Ethiopia: Keeping the Momentum – What Awaits the Upcoming Government

There have been sweeping reforms in Ethiopia following the coming of Prime Minister Abiy into power. Having taken different reform measures, the political landscape witnessed sizeable shift with the country holding a peaceful and credible national election in the history of the country.

After a painstaking vote counting process, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia declared the ruling Prosperity Party (PP) a winner. Ethiopian have been able to show the world that they are on the right track to build a civilized strong democratic system by resolving internal political problems and carrying out a peaceful and democratic elections in a display of readiness to nurture strong democratic culture.

By holding a peaceful election, Ethiopia has proved naysayers wrong and has emerged victorious against all odds. For sure, holding credible election amidst internal and external setbacks is in fact a first rung to lay a strong foundation and build vibrant nation that can withstand any futire problems.

Now that the winner is declared, a new government will be inaugurated in the upcoming September. In spite of all the progress, the country is also faced with myriads of political problems. The country facing challenges both from internal and external actors which are working mainly to undermine peace and stability of the nation and destabilize the nation.

As the government toils to deal with those challenges, the newly elected government has mountains of dossiers to address the internal and external setbacks in collaboration with political parties and the general public.

Putting their differences aside, Ethiopian people have been taking part in the national undertakings of the country from supporting the constructions of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to countering the ongoing external pressure and media campaign.

This year the election was unique and the participation of the people is so amazing. This indicates that how much the public is well aware of their country’s issue and respond to the problems actively.

As the time ticks form the formation of a democratically elected new government, some Addis Ababa residents whom The Ethiopian Herald approached have highlighted their expectation and vowed to support the government effort.

Residents of Addis Ababa stated that the new government which is going to be established in the coming September has to solve urgent social, economic and political problems facing the large public throughout the country. Similarly maintaining peace and stability in the country is among the prior homework awaiting the upcoming government.

Muluken Siyum is graduated in Political Science and International Relations from Dire Dawa University. He currently lives in Addis Ababa. He told The Ethiopian Herald that the country is facing many challenges both from internal and external actors, which are trying to destabilize the nation. Some anti-peace elements both from internal and external forces are working together and undermining peace and stability of the nation.

“There are widespread misinformation and unfair external pressure to infringe with Ethiopia’s sovereignty. This is unacceptable! In fact the issue of countering external interferences should not be left to the government, all regardless of political thinking and other denominations should work hand in hand to stop the futile efforts.”

Maintaining sustainable peace and stability of the nation is among the principal homework awaiting the upcoming government. Working hard in strengthening people to people relation is another way in bringing national solidarity and the people together, he stressed.

“Creating massive job opportunities is also a daunting task in which the new government needs to tackle.”

On the other hand, over seventy percent of Ethiopian population is youth and the number of unemployment rate is high in the country. Hundreds of thousands of youths graduated from higher education every year. Creating jobs for those youth is another homework which the upcoming government should give emphasis on if sustainable peace and stability is ensured throughout the country.

Creating awareness and providing necessary consultation for the youth is crucial at this critical time. Using the energy of youth is important to mobilize the whole nation. Otherwise, anti-peace elements may try to use the youth for their own destructive purposes.

“As we all witnessed that the election was so peaceful and the voters elected their representatives till midnight without any pressure freely. Now what the winner is disclosed, the new government is that it needs to deeply hear and understand the demands of the public and addressing social, economic and political bottlenecks.”

Inflation rate is highly increasing and the government is undertaking multilateral measures to contain its impact to ease the hardships facing the public. “The high rate of cost of living in the country is what we all are witnessing and I personally expect that the upcoming administration need to improve the livelihood of the people and other related problems which will transform the country to a better level.”

Tarekegn Degife is another resident of Addis Ababa. He shares similar views with the first interview. Tarekegn for his part said that this is a very challenging time and some forces are trying to sow discord along Ethiopians to destabilize the country.

Conducting national dialogue is very important so as to reach on national consensus and deal with domestic problems thereby avoiding foreign interference.

Even if, election is over, political parties that have diverse interest should be consulted and engaged in resolving the various challenges of the nation. As all we know, Ethiopia is home of over eighty nations and nationalities in which each of them have their own interest and other.

“National dialogue among political parties having diverse interests that could be ethnic, economic and other interests is very important to fill the gap. Maintaining peace and stability is the major homework awaited the new government.”

Working together with the public and contending political parties, is imperative to create national consensus thereby ensuring peace and stability, he added.

Mohamed Fantaw said that strengthening and maintaining national unity, ensuring sustainable peace and stability, and managing the current problems should be the main engagements of the upcoming government. To promote Ethiopia’s interests in the region and internationally, Ethiopian government as promised by Prime Minister Abiy should be reforming diplomatic undertakings.

On the other hand, completing mega projects including GERD should be at the center of the focus of the new government that would officially be inaugurated in the upcoming September, he added.

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