Beyene petros election 2015
Ethiopia PM 'misquoted' over prisoners
Ethiopia's government has denied that all political prisoners will be freed, saying that only some imprisoned politicians will be pardoned.
An aide to the prime minister said a mistranslation led to him being quoted as saying that all political prisoners would be freed to promote dialogue.
The prime minister also said a detention centre, allegedly used as a torture chamber, would be shut.
Ethiopia has been hit by a wave of political unrest in recent years.
Amnesty International welcomed the initial announcement, saying it could signal "the end of an era of bloody repression in Ethiopia" - although it warned that the closure of the Maekelawi detention centre should not be used to "whitewash" the "horrifying" events which took place under its roof.
Ethiopia has always denied that there were any political prisoners in the country, as alleged by human rights and opposition groups.
In a statement on Thursday, Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn's office said that "some members of political parties and other individuals that have been allegedly suspected of committing crimes or those convicted will be pardoned or their cases interrupted based on an assessment that will be made so as to establish a national consensus and widen the political sphere".
It remains unclear how many people will be freed, or when.
One of the main opposition groups, the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (Medrek), said the government often engaged in "face-saving" measures and tried to "buy time" when it was "cornered".
Medrek was, nevertheless, prepared to enter into dialogue with the government, if it was genuine and the talks led to free and fair elections, said the group's deputy leader, Beyene Petros.
Who are the prisoners?
Those held in jails across the country include opposition activists from the Am
Development and democracy debate ahead of Ethiopia vote
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – If Ethiopians ever possessed a strong desire to express their political views through the ballot, that sentiment seems to have dwindled in the run-up to national elections on May 24.
One 28-year-old student, who requested anonymity fearing reprisals, shrugged at the thought of the upcoming vote.
“To say we have elections, there have to be real alternatives,” he said. “This election is just so we can tell Western governments we are a democratic country,” the finance and accounting master’s degree student told Al Jazeera at Addis Ababa University’s Siddist Kilo campus.
Such views are not uncommon among the electorate and opposition members in the capital, many of whom have dismissed the upcoming vote as a formality.
The results of the 2010 election left the opposition with a single seat in the 547-seat parliament, and afterwards the EU said Ethiopia’s electoral process failed to create “a level playing field for political parties“.
It wasn’t always this way.
In 2005, the then high-school student took part in political rallies in support of the Oromo National Congress Party running under one of the main opposition coalitions, the United Ethiopian Democratic Front.
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Back then, he said, the opposition was strong and united, and people thought supporting it would bear fruit.
In the election that year – preceded by a relatively open political climate – the opposition surprised the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) by taking 31 percent of parliamentary seats.
| Professor Beyene Beyene Petros [Simona Foltyn/Al Jazeera] |
However, the aftermath of the vote was marked by mass arrests of student protesters and opposition leaders.
The student told Al Jazeera he was detained for months, a fate he shared with thousands of students who took to the streets.
The country’s controversial 2009 anti-terrorism proclamation has been cri (Neamin Ashenafi) Professor Beyene Petros is the president of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (Medrek), one of the main opposition political parties contesting seats in the current elections. Originally, Beyene was president of the Ethiopian Social Democrat (ESD) party which later merged with the South Ethiopian Unity party (SEUP) to form ESD-SEUP which, in turn, is part of Medrek. Beyene is also a biology professor at the Addis Ababa University Faculty of Science. Neamin Ashenafi of The Reporter sat down with him in his office situated on the 8th floor of Popolare building. Professor Beyene reflects his party’s view on the results of the general election which took place last Sunday and also about an independent inquiry body which Medrek wants to be established. Excerpts: The Reporter: How do you describe the whole electoral process? And what is the reaction of your party, the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (Medrek), regarding the preliminary results revealed by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia? Professor Beyene Petros: First of all, I want to say out in the open that there was no election in Ethiopia; the election that was held on Sunday was not conducted on the rules the basis of regulations and procedures enshrined in the constitution and electoral law of the country. Prerequisite for an election is availability of various options to choose from. But in the Ethiopian case, all the options were suppressed and controlled by the ruling party; therefore it’s very hard to say that the country had conducted an election. The whole process prior to the voting day was full of challenges and hurdles. We need to pass through a lot to reach the polling day; the challenges started from the beginning of the election of public observers where many cadres of the ruling party passed as elected public observer. Another problem was that though the Addis Ababa, 2 January 2015 (WIC) – Opposition political parties that are going to contest in the upcoming May elections said they are preparing to be strong competitor. Opposition parties that ENA has interviewed with said they have already started activities that will help them become strong contestants in the election. President of Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (Medrek) Beyene Petros (Prof) told ENA that his party is being prepared to be strong contestant at the elections. The preparation of election manifesto and registration of candidates are among the preparation being carried out. President of the Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP), Dr. Chala Kebede said apart from contesting in the elections, the party is working to make it peaceful and democratic. The Party, one of the signatories to the joint political parties’ council, is striving to actively participate in the council, which he said helps to resolve disputes. The other Party, United Ethiopian Democratic Forces disclosed that it has already finalized registration of candidates. President of the Party, Guish Gebre-Silase said the party is going to contest in the nine states. “As the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces is a national party, we are willing and preparing to compete in the nine states. Although we have limited resources we are trying to assign candidates to all regions.” He lauded the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia for supporting parties regarding finance and provision of trainings on crisis management. The President urged the Board for the continuation of the support during the election process also, saying his party didn’t encounter any challenge so far. President of the United Ethiopian Democratic Party, Admasu Hailu for his part said that his party is on the right track to compete in the elections. “We are in good shape to cast candidates in every part of the country.” he said. According to him, the Board should work hard to
Ethiopian election | Beyene Petros sour about the electoral process