As we all know, two unprecedented political events have occurred very recently in Ethiopia: the huge public demonstrations in Addis Abeba supporting either the opposition political parties or the ruling party and the massive turnout of voters to elect candidates on voting day. Currently, votes are being counted by the NEB, although a number of problems that justify the invalidation of the election exist. I would like to offer the following observations in connection to these events.

• It has been reported that prior to the election, about 2 million residents of Addis Abeba expressed their support for the opposition with peaceful demonstration, while over 1 million residents supported the EPRDF. It thus appears reasonable that at least some of the parliamentary seats in the capital should be won by the EPRDF. However, this was not found to be the case since the opposition won all the available seats. This indicates that citizens who seem to support the EPRDF in public do not necessarily do so when it comes to private decisions. Therefore, at least part of the support expressed for the EPRDF during the pre-election demonstration was not genuine. Consistent with this, there are reports indicating that employees in Addis Abeba were ordered by EPRDF officials to publicly show their support for the party without their consent. The implication of this is that if citizens were given the freedom, they might not have come out in any significant number to demonstrate in support of the ruling party. The staged public show imposed by the government should, therefore, be considered bogus and it was mainly meant for consumption by foreign diplomats.
• During the campaign period, a number of issues were discussed by the opposition parties and the EPRDF to win the support of potential voters. From the reactions of the public, ideas favoring the integrity and national security of the country, a strong sense of patriotism, individual rights/freedom and privatization seemed to be more attractive. This suggests that opposition parties that have not given enough considerations to these ideas should make them their priories—in other words, they have to understand correctly what the majority of voters/Ethiopians say. Since these values were embraced more strongly in urban areas (including the capital), they seem to reflect the interests of diversified groups of people who have come from different sectors of the society all over the nation.
• Without taking his responsibility seriously and honestly, Mr. Jimmy Carter prematurely gave the impression that the election in Ethiopia was free and fair. Since this was not true, one has to question the integrity of Mr. Carter in this regard. Looking at his records more closely, Mr. Carter seems to have a double standard. When it comes to voting in the US, he was one of the most outspoken criticizers of the recent Florida vote. Among other things, he criticized the Florida voting procedures as being administered by highly partisan Republican officials and thus lacking uniformity and fairness. Those who follow Mr. Carter’s role in politics and election monitoring activities outside his own country also testify that he usually tends to align himself with crooks against the will of the general population. As such, no evidence can be presented supporting that Mr. Carter has made a difference for the positive in any of the Third World countries where he was invited to monitor elections. Some suggest that one reason for this reality is money. As an example, a 2002 report in NewsMax Magazine reveals that the Carter Center was a recipient of millions of dollars from corrupted Arab leaders in return to Mr. Carter’s support. Does money have anything to do with Mr. Carter’s assessment of the Ethiopian election? It may or it may not, but the important lesson that could be learnt from this unfortunate event is the recognition that everybody has his/her own agendas and Ethiopians should not necessarily accept or rely on what others say about them.
• Based on the experiences gained during the past 14 years, it can be said with a high degree certainty that almost all Ethiopians now see the Meles regime as criminal and the enemy of their country. Branded as such, no genuine Ethiopian trusts this regime anymore as standing for Ethiopia. The people are anxious to replace the regime by a democratic government that truly reflects their common interests. This effort has been going on quite for some time and the struggle reached a more decisive stage recently as a result of the formation of relatively viable and trustworthy opposition political parties. It is inevitable that the fight against the Meles regime will continue until the desire of the Ethiopian people is fulfilled. Defying this reality, the Meles regime is doing everything possible in order to cling to power. As a major means of assurance, the regime makes extraordinary effort to get the support of the international community through deception, confusion and bribery. The recent election that took place in the country was designed by the government for this very purpose. However, because of the determination of the Ethiopian people for freedom, even this did not work in favor of the regime. Having failed to get the expected support from voters, the regime has embarked on other venues of illegal activities, more recently. For instance, while the regime itself is conducting numerous fraudulent and illegal deeds against the opposition and in its favor, an official of the ruling party is now openly accusing the opposition of cheating the election. Since every process related to the election is administered and regulated by the highly partisan government agency NEB, it is obvious that this cannot happen. This attitude of the government is simply an act of “blaming the victim” designed to cover its own sins. For those who consider or would like to consider the Meles government as sincere, this is yet another example of deception perpetuated by the regime. The Ethiopian people are asking again the international community not to be fooled by this regime. Meanwhile, it should be clear that, whatever the outcome of the election may be, the EPRDF government has already committed a number of serious crimes against Ethiopia and its people during the last 14 long years and Ethiopian believe that it should be held accountable for this. Evidence also suggests that the regime is posed to commit further crimes (which can be even worse) if allowed to stay in power any more. Meles still appears to have the unfinished business of weakening the national security and integrity of Ethiopia, thereby making it venerable to destructive forces. Understanding this evil behavior of the regime, the Ethiopian people have already shown, more than ever, their readiness to throw it from power and establish a suitable government of their own desire in its place.

Although most readers are expected to be quite familiar with the aforementioned observations, the repeated appreciation of the issues can provide additional strength to the ongoing struggle of the Ethiopian people against the inhuman government of Meles Zenawi. Like any other people in our world, Ethiopians deserve and have the right to be free from such a suppressive and destructive regime. In order to achieve this long-awaited dream of the people, it is imperative that the appropriate leadership and support should be made available on continuous basis. The Diaspora community has an important role to play in this regard.