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the Ethiopian citizens for social justice (Ezema), established a year ago and presumed to be one of the main candidates in the next general elections, expressed its support for the option of constitutional amendment based on the principles enshrined in Articles 104 and 105/2 of the FDRE Constitution, following What it said There was a critical debate on the four alternatives presented by the government to decide the fate of the next general elections and the current administration.
A week ago, the Deputy Attorney General, Gedion Timotiwos (PhD), presented four possible alternatives to representatives of opposition parties at a meeting convened by the Prime Minister’s Office. The discussion was initiated by the current administration in order to resolve the outstanding issues related to the postponement of the next general election due to the coronavirus outbreak and the associated constitutional challenges regarding the outgoing administration.
The options presented by the government, as presented by the Deputy Attorney General, were to dissolve the House of People’s Representatives (HPR), declare a State of Emergency (SoE), a constitutional amendment, and seek constitutional interpretation.
A statement issued on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 by the party indicates that it has been holding a series of discussions with constitutional lawyers for the past month in an attempt to find a constitutional solution to the anticipated power vacuum created by the decisions. Taken by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to postpone the general elections, initially scheduled for August 29, 2020.
In its seven-page statement, the party called for any attempt to address current political and constitutional problems to focus on creating opportunities to strengthen institutions and to be carried out quickly.
The statement went further, noting that while the party is seeking a full constitutional amendment, it admits that the time may not be right to do so, as it requires time and discussions with the public. Therefore, the party expressed its support for the constitutional amendment as the only way to address the existing political and constitutional crisis.
To this end, the amendment will aim to allow Parliament to postpone elections for no more than one year. However, the process must be accompanied by unambiguous and clearly established roles of limiting the power of the interim government and preventing it from adopting “important and consequential decisions”, as a normal government would do until the elections are held, reads en the notice.
Similarly, the party opposed the decision of the House of People’s Representatives (HPR), approved on May 4, to approve the option of a constitutional interpretation; saying it is an option whose effect is unknown, especially during this challenging moment in history.
Apart from this, the party expressed concern about the interference and that the process should be free of it.
Finally, the party reported that any measure and alternative presented must take into account existing political and constitutional problems, and at the same time focus on guaranteeing the stability of the nation, the continuity of peace and the process of building a democratic system. Therefore, any decision related to national issues must also incorporate the voices of all political actors, regardless of their political position.
On the other hand, the current constitutional crisis recently intensified after a media interview with Jawar Mohammed, well-known politicians who returned to Ethiopia after the reform and recently joined the Oromo Federal Federal Congress (OFC), and Lidetu Ayalew, another prominent figure in Ethiopian politics and a member of the top leadership of the Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP). The two appeared on a local television station to discuss the recent conundrum and uncovered the surprise of many commentators for suggesting that the legitimacy of current administrations would expire once the current parliamentary year ends, and therefore all security structures and the army should refuse to take orders.
The duo advocated what they called “a political solution” to the crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, even proposing the dissolution of the current administration and the establishment of a transitional government.
