GOH sans Dictat
We have argued in several postings in this blog that the rub of Ethiopian democracy is not whether the opposition was prepared to lead in 2005 or if it offered attainable proposals to move Ethiopia forward. Democracy asks a simple question to those who claim the leadership mantle: did you legitimately obtain the consent of the governed to rule over them? We have argued the unprecedented number of votes for opposition candidates amid widespread electoral fraud, uncured by the courts, coupled with governmental crackdown that led to wanton loss of life is sufficient to answer the basic democracy question in an unqualified negative. Having reconsolidated its federal and regional powers at unprecedented levels, the EPRDF has directed its vision to the next election cycle. Whether the governed accept it or not, the EPRDF has convinced itself it has received a constitutional mandate to rule, at least until May 2010. Mr. Bereket Simon’s interview with Addis Fortune Managing Editor Tamrat G...