Electoral freedom and institution building: Expectations of progress towards democratic consolidation in Ethiopia, 1991--2007

Scholarly attention on the global progress and measurement of democratic consolidation has recently included assessing the experience of the African states. Yet, more than a decade after the third wave of global democratization broke in Africa's shore there is still a dispute over the degree of political freedom and democracy extended to any given state. For example, in Ethiopia seventeen years after the violent coup d'etat that toppled the monarchy, the transition from military dictatorship to what was hoped to be "democratic rule" was officially celebrated in 1991.; In spite of that, scholars continue to discuss the country's chances and conditions for successful consolidation into the future. For some scholars the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) now operates within a constitutional framework that possesses all the universally recognized characteristics of a democratic system. For others, the government has not been democratic, although they have been so proclaimed to satisfy the standards that the donor community applies to post-conflict states of Africa.; Nowhere was the debate more manifested than in the attempt of the Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front/Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (TPLF/EPRDF) led government of Ethiopia to take away the civil and political rights of its citizens after the May 15, 2005 election. For example, during this election, twenty-six million Ethiopians cast their ballots and, in the capital city alone, the voters chose the opposition party for 23 out of 24 seats. Yet, on the day of the vote, perhaps sensing defeat, the EPRDF claimed victory before half of the votes for parliamentary seats were counted, and it declared a state of emergency.; Subsequently, most of the opposition leaders and the elected members of parliament were sent to prison for "violating the constitution" a crime of outrage against the constitution and the constitutional order, while others were charged with treason and attempted genocide. When citizens took to the streets to show support for the arrested opposition members of parliament, they faced militia soldiers armed with live bullets. Some of the defendants stated that they were merely exercising their constitutional rights for free speech and the right to assemble. Certainly, the constitution prohibits, among other things, denial of the right to assemble, denial of the right of free speech, denial of a fair trial, denial of life itself and, generally speaking, the supremacy of the state (individuals with power, that is) over the constitution. Recently, in its March 6, 2007 report, the US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor concluded "It is really amazing how much and how long a farce can be propagated...."; Therefore, the democratization effort in Africa raises one fundamental question: what are the prospects for the consolidation of democracy in Africa? Within this debate there is the question of how to assess when any given state has consolidated its regime, as opposed to continuing its transition from authoritarianism towards democracy. In other words, does electoral or formal political democratization constitute a path to the consolidation of democracy? What do we mean by consolidation and how do we judge a consolidated democracy? Using the period 1991-2007, the tenure of the EPRDF, I present in this dissertation a salient and unique case study in African democratic consolidation. Specifically, I will determine the degree to which the regime of the TPLF-led EPRDF furthered or inhibited the progress toward democracy.; After examining the institutional measures of democracy, including the constitutional limits on government; equality before the law; fair, free and open elections; majority rule and minority rights; the sovereignty of the people; and political parties, I suggest that the government is deemed "successful" in satisfying the standards that the donor community applies to African states. In realit...