Ethiopia: The Prime Minister’s Interview With EBC – Parties and Democracy

A few days ago, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (Ph.D.) gave quite an extended and extraordinary interview to EBC. It was intended to review and summarize the performance of his administration and what trajectory his government will pursue in the coming years. Given that we are traveling to the 2026 general election, this interview cannot be timelier. The premier took all the time he needed to address all the questions that were posed by the journalist and did not squander the occasion to substantiate on all the major policy decisions taken over the years in practically every aspect by him and his party.

The premier talked about his views on the Ethiopian political world and the challenges that the country faces due to the fragmentation of the parties and the inconsistencies within the same. He described his observations during the past seven years, admitting that there were some errors his government may have committed, but it has used those shortcomings to learn from them and rectify the errors without considering itself always righteous.

The major shortcoming of Ethiopian parties is that they still believe that one could assume power through the barrel of a gun rather than through lawful, open, fair, and free elections after presenting their ideas and programs to the public. He said that was why, as soon as his administration came to power, he decided to free political detainees and invited foreign-based political parties, including those which were engaged in armed battles against the establishment for years, such as the OLF, and Ghinbot Sebat. He said that he did not regret his decisions regarding this point because it was right to give a chance to all parties operating both at home as well as abroad to take the opportunity to present their political programs to the public and try to convince citizens to elect them in a multiparty system.

Ethiopia did not have a well-developed democratic experience, and this was the occasion to practice it in a convenient political landscape, and that was the view of his government. But the result was not as expected because the intention and hope of these parties was to immediately seize power and govern the country without any attempts to take part in a free election process. This was one of the first episodes of his administration, but he did not regret it because of the shortcomings of certain political forces.

The premier noted that he was amazed by their insistence to be leaders of the country without ever showing if they are capable, as they never administered even a single county or kebele, nor did they had the experience of leading an agency such as a government institution by getting involved in public affairs and livelihoods. He said they may have had knowledge, but theory alone could not guarantee them success in addressing the burning issues of the people. They had the chance to engage with the potential constituencies and introduce themselves to the population to convince them to choose them in an election.

Every party leader aspired to take the highest political office without presenting the necessary credentials, without passing through the required steps, including showing their practical skills in administering or leading a public office. They came from a different social atmosphere and did not even know the country well, and in what state it was, and why things were going the way they did. Entertaining such a claim or ambition was, to say the least, improper and a reflection of their naivety because the days when one could come to power through armed struggle or force must be done away with once and for all.

It should be admitted that the ideas of half a century ago must be dismissed as outmoded and unacceptable even by the public. The premier said Ethiopians have come a long distance trying to have finally a government that is elected by them as they through the past half a century experienced the fall of the monarchy, the military regime and its deposition and the EPRDF government which tried to administer the country but failed because it was not all inclusive. Power was concentrated in the hands of a few people selected on the basis of loyalty and allegiance derived from provenance from this group or that one, which was not fair at all for the majority that were sidelined from power.

Hence, the issue of democracy was one on which his administration focused and tried to build strong and neutral institutions, including the reforming of the national electoral board, the formation of a new national human rights commission, and letting them operate freely without the interference or influence of the executive. Those were among the first decisions and measures adopted by his government, according to the premier.

The premier dwelt at length on the major highlights of his government’s operations, and by and large, he said he could consider himself satisfied given what progress the country had achieved. But he did not consider that his party has reached the highest level of achievement because Ethiopia is still identified with several negative epithets, and that must create in everyone’s mind a sense of frustration and anger because Ethiopia does not deserve to be sidelined from the international scene with a bad reputation.

The image of Ethiopia should change, and that is one of the principal objectives of his party and government. He said he felt really embarrassed to see his country be at this level of poverty and backwardness when we have all that is required to grow and be among the well-off countries, not only in Africa but also the world.

The premier then listed the number of activities and endeavours that his administration achieved over the past several years since his advent to power. Among the key achievements of his government was the establishment of a new party, dissolving the EPRDF, which had administered the country for almost three decades but did not achieve what it could and needed to do it.