“I was the president.”

You were the president?

Yes.

So you still put forward the names?

Yes I did.

Well, I think perhaps that’s the point I am trying to get to. You put forward all the names of the people who are on the Electoral Board?

Uhm!

And you now expect the opposition to believe this Board would be entirely impartial?…You’ve been in power for 14 years. Don’t you see the danger of staying too long in power?

It is a long, interesting story in which the foundations of tyranny were seen collapsing under the weight of real journalism. The HardTalk encounter was a summation of how one man who lived in power for 14 years was determined to rule Ethiopia as president-for-life despite a public cry for justice, for change, against poverty, against pestilence, against fear, against murder, against all odds.

We have a major problem in Ethiopia. Meles knows the danger of staying too long in power. As resented as he is, so far, he looks ready to go the June 8 way: gunning down whoever stands on his way to an illegal grip on power.

Neb has been at the center of the political storm brewing in Ethiopia. It is Meles Zenawi’s own creation, and can’t run outside from what Meles had programmed it to be over a decade ago. No matter what, the winner is NEB’s programmer.

Last Friday, NEB announced results of complaint investigations for 66 constituencies. Since the ruling party was accused of rigging the elections, expectations were NEB would at least make some face-saving last returns from its so-called “investigations.” Well except for a trickle, NEB heaped 60 of them on its creator, Mr. Meles. The opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) got two. The remaining 4 were spread as consolation prizes for other opposition parties, including the popular UEDF. The accused ruling party walked away with the lion’s share of adding more votes to its previous loot.

The fraud investigation that was supposed to resolve the crisis ended up fueling further crisis. What’s to be done? Is there a power to appeal to? Nope.

From bad to worse, Meles Zenawi’s top officials who were defeated in the May 15 elections are bouncing back as contending candidates after two months of state terror left rural Ethiopia a haunted zone. Now Meles Zenawi’s Information Minister Bereket Simon stands for a re-run in Bugna, North Wello. He was defeated by a big margin by a local CUD candidate. The difference is Bereket has the bullet to beat his contender with the ballot.

Oromia regional president Junedin Sado and Defense Minister Abadula Gemeda were other victims of the May 15 election. They lost to UEDF by big margins. But now, they are rolling back for a re-run after conducting several weeks of terror against the rural constituencies that voted them out. The campaign of state terror aimed at crushing the people’s faith in democracy has continued unabated. Is there any power to appeal to? Where is Ana Gomez? The graceful EU official who, in a short warning, saved the country by warning Meles to stop rehearsing satanic verses from the Book of Interehamwe?

The voted-out ministers are not alone. The ruling party’s lower echelon, which had already lost seats, is also making an impressive comeback in an environment blanketed by state terror.

NEB is now playing a hide-and-seek game with the opposition parties. Once again on Friday, the Associated Press dispatched reports from NEB chairman Kemal Bedri, and said: “Ethiopia will rerun parliamentary elections in at least 20 of the 524 seats contested during fiercely disputed polls.” The opposition leaders, with whom NEB was supposed to work to resolve the ongoing crisis as per their agreement, learned about NEB’s decision like any body else – from the Interent.

“We had asked a re-run of elections in 79 constituencies. The electoral board has announced the election re-run would be held at 20 polling stations. This means nearly 60 constituencies have been thrown out,” Dr. Beyene Petros told the Voice of America (VOA) Amharic Program Friday July 22nd.

CUD’s Gizachew Shiferaw on his part said NEB was working hand and glove with the ruling party so much that we were left out in the cold when we learned from the media that several constituencies where CUD had won by big margins have been marked by NEB for re-runs.

“In Bugna, Bugna, Gonder Zuria No. 3, Dembia, Chilga, Kati and Albuko where CUD won in big margins have been ruled as re-run constituencies despite strong CUD proofs of electoral victories. We learned the reports from the Internet and other media sources just like outsiders,” a puzzled Gizachew told the VOA Friday.

On Monday or Tuesday, the Ethiopian people would hear from the “neutral” NEB what has been a forgone conclusion: “The EPRDF has won the majority of the 547-seat parliament, and would form the government for the next five years.”

The million-dollar questions now are, “Would that lead to peace?” Will betraying the people – who put their faith in democracy through a display of a 90% voter turnout – be an answer in order to please a reviled tyrant?

Warns Dr Merera Gudina, president of the opposition United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), “By stealing votes through sheer violence, the ruling party has declared war not only on the opposition but also on the Ethiopian people.” (Reporter: 07/23/05).

The Ethiopian people are hoping the Africa Union observers will break the silence in defense of justice, and the Carter Center will give a boost to the reign of democracy in Ethiopia. Last but not least, all eyes are fixed on the European Union. Will EU vote for the continuation of injustice in Ethiopia, or as the courageous Ana Gomez did to cut short the premier’s promise to unleash disaster, declare any victory announcement by the tyrannical regime “null and void”?

The fate of the May 15 elections shouldn’t be left to the opposition alone. It is a rare historic moment for representatives of the international community to support Africa’s second most populous nation transition itself into a sovereignty under the rule of law. In these final hours, the role of the witnesses from the international community stands out prominently to help Ethiopians get the first democratically-elected government in history.