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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected various tasks and activities around the world, and Ethiopia was forced to postpone the general elections, which were initially planned for August 29, 2020. In addition to postponing the elections, some problems have arisen. constitutional. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) and opposition political parties in the discussions, in an effort to find solutions to the existing impasse.
To this end, the Prime Minister has met with the heads of the opposition parties. On Wednesday, April 29, 2020, a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office covered topics focused mainly on possible legal options to postpone the general elections and on the current status of COVID-19.
In this sense, the representatives of the opposition parties reflected on the possible solutions proposed that would decide the fate of both, the next general elections and the incumbent. Going forward, the parties explored several possible constitutional alternatives on how to conduct the general elections already postponed due to the pandemic.
The Deputy Attorney General, Gedion Timotiwos (PhD) presented the possible alternatives to the representatives of the opposition parties. To this end, the government sent four possible alternatives to address the problems related to the postponed general election. Options sent by the government, therefore, are to dissolve the House of People’s Representatives (HPR), declare a State of Emergency (SoE), make a constitutional amendment, and seek constitutional interpretation.
After the presentation, members of the opposition presented their views regarding possible alternatives and many expressed their gratitude to the government for organizing such a platform.
Natnael Feleke, head of public relations for Ethiopian citizens for social justice (EZEMA), said The reporter that “The discussion convened in the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday is a manifestation of the government’s commitment to address national issues through discussions with all stakeholders, unlike previous experiences.”
Furthermore, Natnael said, “the Party’s legal department had already conducted an investigation into possible constitutional alternatives, once the postponement of the elections was announced. In this sense, the party’s legal department has already identified three alternatives similar to the proposal presented by the government. What the party’s legal department was unable to propose was the fourth alternative seeking constitutional interpretation in the HoF. “
On the support of the party on the proposed alternatives, said Natnael The reporter that “the party’s Executive Committee is expected to meet next Monday to decide on the matter and we will notify our position on the proposed alternatives for next week.”
Similarly, the president of the Unity Party for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), Tigistu Awelu, one of the participants in the discussion, argued in favor of the fourth alternative, to seek constitutional interpretation in the HoF. He also applauded the government’s initiative to discuss the issue and is a sign that the government is changing its outdated ways of dealing with national problems.
Regarding the alternatives, he said his justification for such a position is that “all three alternatives are driven more by the executive branch of government, making it difficult to resolve the impasse quickly. The HoF will address the problem in a short period of time that could help the entire political and constitutional order to get out of the impasse, “he concluded.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister also said that the discussion was quite fruitful. “These kinds of debates support the democratization process in Ethiopia,” stressed the prime minister.
