Will It Be Election or Selection In 2010 Gambella Regional State?

Despite the recent disputed national census, Gambella population has reached about three hundred thousand people. Population projection of 2.6 per annual does not seem to add on the total population year after year. Being small in size geographically and in number of people as well does have some demerits on the allocation of recurrent budget which the upper house at the federal level is responsible for. Still in Gambella, population figure is being cooked in every survey and this keeps the total population at stagnant point. It is irresponsible to allow such a scam that population figures are being manipulated and creates huge concern when counting favors some nationals among the five land races in Gambella region. Gambella people especially the giant Anywaa have never contested the outcome of all manipulated population figures since the office-in-charge of census is independent and exclusively loyal to big wigs at federal level. It is imperative that any appropriate reform within the institution has to be initiated or local workforces should do the job to achieve transparence and comprehensive accountability. If there is any change in election scheme in Gambella Regional State, it should, of course, start from federal all the way to the whole regions. However, that is not likely to happen on Prime Minister Meles Zenawe watch. 

The purpose of this article is just to throw light on the climate of election 2010 in Gambella region. People of my type are dragging their feet going to the registration centers since it is doubtful that meaningful change may not be exhibited in the region. Fewer get registered fearing the danger of negative consequence of being targeted.

The worst side of 2010 election in the regional members of the parliament (MP) is the recycling business considering it only as a source of income--but not to deliver social services for the people of Gambella. Every year the numbers of seats grow since constituents are being dissected into pieces to form a bulged regional parliament. New woredas (districts) are always in the making every time based on some political measures, ignoring other basic elements which an institution supposes to fulfill. The funny and dangerous thing in 2010 election is the unconditional and unconstitutional nomination of non-local ethnic groups (degegnoch in Amharic) in the chemistry of regional members of parliament which seems to be boosted by the good will of the regional authorities suppressing the interest of local majority. The inclusion of the non-local ethnic groups in the regional state parliament not only dangerous to the regional future political system, but it is also a dead trap for the indigenous people in the region. It violates the term of self-rule or ethnic based democratic system stipulated in the country’s constitution. In every aspect, Ethiopia constitution is dysfunctional in Gambella region. If this doesn’t apply in Oromia region, in Tigray region or else where in the country, then it shouldn’t be applied in Gambella.

The history of neighboring region, Benshangul-Gumuz, where the government is dominated by the other ethnic groups from other part of Ethiopia will repeat itself in Gambella Region. The indigenous in that region are deprived of their rights in all walks of life. In Gambella, the indigenous people have resisted this political marginalization for the last seventeen years, but this time around it looks the undercover EPRDF agents plan to retake Gambella into their power will succeed. Undercover EPRDF agents in the region have been complaining for the high positions in Gambella Regional State, and they were finally allowed to occupy some of the positions like “bureau alafy” or head of the offices. In the upcoming election in 2002 Ethiopian calendar, the undercover EPRDF agents are again pushing their heads into Gambella Regional State parliament. Whether they are being dispatched by the authority in Addis Ababa or not, the process of taking over the government of Gambella is already in the making. Last year, EPRDF is believed to have dispatched some “political mentors” to the region to work in various institutions. Those groups include some of the notable killer like Tadese Haileselasi, former police commissioner, who had played a great role in December 13, 2003 genocide.  It is up to the indigenous people like the Anuaks, the Nuers, the Opo, the Majanger, and the Komo to resist the taking over their region.    

The case in point is Gambella city administration whose composition are 5 Highlanders, 5 Nuers, 5 Anywaa, 2 Komos, and 2 Opo and no seats for the decent Mejengir. The proposed candidates out of the 5 highlanders are people with no good track record and their acquaintance with local politic do not excel some highlander born in Gambella. There seems to be some skirmish which the later group ruled out the proposal. The so-called highlanders are not legitimate to run for the office in an autonomous regional state which is already tailored for other individuals based on the agreed upon federalized parameters. They “the highlanders,” representing significant portion of the population make up does necessarily gear towards recommending practical politics of inclusion in other people affairs or politics, as the reverse may not be practical, as well. Being fair to undercover EPRDF agents could only be achieved through excising of good governance and this in turn, could ultimately solve any matter of their concern instead of creating precedence in the infantry democratization process of the region. The recurrent budget (sometimes they called digoma in Amharic which I still disagree with the term) that the federal government releases to bail out the regional expenditures is not a charity fund to the regions, but wage of the equity from national cake or the discharge of duties and responsibilities as per the signed contracts in the federal constitution. Gambella should not be exceptional and this could not justify undercover EPRDF agents to secure political decision making seats in the regional house.

Truly and honestly no other part in Ethiopia exists where non-local people enjoy atmosphere of freedom, free access to good jobs and easy access to possess properties even free access land in the urban and in the rural to make a living and/or for investments. Other people termed it as persisted perception to believe in superiority of the foreigners by the local which enables them to lease out their constituent build up for free. The argument is that the party should not unilaterally decide without discussing the matter with its members and with broad mass in general. It matters a lot even if the entire local communities remain resilient. It does not make sense either to defend such sensitive issue by sending so-called junior political practitioners in the frontline to ramble on it. In free and genuine democracy, it does not buy to deny people constitutional rights to exercise self-rule. Therefore, the ruling regional party has to look into the matter and consider the local majority viewpoints for corrective measures.  It’s obvious that all nations deserve their leaders but Gambella do not deserve foreigners (highlanders) as their political leaders like any other sister regional states in Ethiopia. Marginalized and characterized with poor record of good governance plus clear indication of poor handling of human rights should not be tolerated by the stakeholders in the local government.  It is clear that resisting this kind of political gimmick or sensitive issue in Gambella Region risks purging from civil services jobs or long term jail time and even death. That is why everybody unnecessarily becomes resilient. Nevertheless, Gambella lovers and friends should understand this matter and advocate for any immediate and corrective measures with the Gambella governor.

The local communities in Gambella were silent when evicted from their birth land, but they should not be resilient when their political power is illegally shared or taken away inappropriately. This is not an issue of one particular tribe in the region, but it is an issue of all Gambella tribes: the Anuaks, the Nuers, the Opo, the Komo, and the Majanger. If the indigenous people do not resist to an ongoing political takeover by undercover EPRDF agents, the number of “highlanders” or undercover EPRDF agents, in the government will keep adding up until they take the whole system. In the past regimes, the recycling of power among highlanders never brought any meaningful change in term of executing development endeavors, but corruption and looting the resources of the region. In this very regime, the “highlanders” are still trying to practice the old school philosophy of depleting the resources of the region. Being sensitive to such critical things is a good quality of transformational leadership style which should be assumed by the local leaders. It may not take much longer time for all Gambella communities: the Anuaks, the Nuers, the Opo, the Komo, and the Majanger to understand the reality and dynamism of the politic prevailing in Gambella regional state; however, if the local leaders do not present the grievances on behalf of Gambella people, no one else will act on their behalf.

In sum, Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is known for its divide and rule policy that has been going on since 1991. Its political monarchy is shield by deceitfulness, nepotism, corruption, and ethnocentric. This political scenario is pervasive in all over the country and Gambella Regional State is not working outside EPRDF box. Gambella Regional State leaderships are bounded to the EPRDF policy. In other words, the leaderships in the region have no choice but to accept whatever federal government put forward. In essence, the people of Gambella or other parts of the country have no say in the government at all. Democracy is suppose to be a government of people, but in Ethiopia it a government of political clique.