Abiy Ahmed’s Elections: Democracy for Those Present!

Mustafa Abdelaziz Al-Batal
The general elections held in Ethiopia yesterday, Monday, 1 June, were marked by the conspicuous absence of major parts of the country from the electoral process. The entire Tigray region was excluded, with its people denied the opportunity to participate in the elections altogether.
Likewise, elections were not conducted across large areas of the Amhara and Oromia regions, two of Ethiopia’s largest and most politically and demographically significant regions.
Yet neither the African Union, the European Union, nor the United States—who routinely present themselves as the guardians and champions of democracy around the world—appear to have found anything troubling in this perplexing situation. Not a word has been heard from them regarding the Ethiopian nationalities that were excluded from the electoral process, nor have any serious questions been raised about the credibility of these elections, despite vast areas of the country and entire communities being left outside the process.
On the contrary, the results are expected to be accepted as entirely legitimate. Monitoring missions from IGAD, the African Union, and various Western bodies are also expected to issue reports that confer the necessary legitimacy and acceptance on the process, thereby granting Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government—supported by Western powers and the United Arab Emirates—the international recognition and democratic credentials it seeks.
Thus, we are reminded that democracy in Ethiopia apparently requires only the presence of election observers; whether voters themselves are present or absent seems to be of little consequence.
This episode once again illustrates how democracy is viewed by many international powers: a principle to be rigorously enforced when it serves their interests, and conveniently overlooked when its outcomes might conflict with those interests.
What has occurred in Ethiopia is yet another reminder that legitimacy in international politics is not always bestowed according to democratic standards and principles, but rather calculated on the basis of power and interest.

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