By Olubunmi Ishola, Medill Reports
CHICAGO — The men sit around tables, lingering over beer, coffee or tea, after enjoying a dinner of watt, a variety of spicy and mild stews served on top of injera, a pancake-like bread.
The cream-colored walls of the large restaurant are adorned with pictures depicting landscapes, buildings and noble figures.
In the midst of this fragrant and colorful environment, the men often discuss, and sometimes argue, mostly about politics – Ethiopian politics.
This is a common scene at Edgewater’s Ethiopian Diamond Restaurant described by owner Almaz Yigizaw.
Many of these men have been in the United States for more than 10 years, Yigizaw said, but they still show a strong passion for what happens in their country.
A country known for its bad human-rights record and oppressive government, Ethiopia will have local elections this Sunday and again on April 20.
Many Ethiopian immigrants kept up with past elections, but their interest this year is tempered by the lack of a democratic process in their homeland.
Edgewater resident Berhim Melese said he used to be interested, but when the people’s hope was crushed after post-election violence in 2005, he stopped caring.
“At this time everybody is tired of talking about politics,” he said. Many of them, Melese said, are not even aware local elections will soon take place.
During the 2005 elections, the results from the National Election Board showed the opposition parties in a strong lead. However, the board eventually declared the ruling party as the winner.
Protests ensued, resulting in over 60,000 citizens arrested and at least 200 killed. Leaders of the opposition parties were arrested and only released within the last six to eight months.
Erku Yimer said these results have led the East African nation to lose hope in elections in general.
“The election board, it’s appointed by the government,” Yimer, the executive director of the Ethiopian Community Association in Chicago, said. “It’s not neutral. It’s an arm of the government, so [Ethiopians] have no belief in the election board.”
Melese said that while many in Ethiopia’s diaspora may not know about these local elections, they are still very important to the political development of the country. Unlike the 2005 elections, which were national, these elections are for the lower levels of the administration which provides services to the Ethiopian public.
While media like the Voice of America, the BBC and even The Economist have reported on them, Melese said “real information is from the inside, and there is none.”
There is only one media in Ethiopia, controlled by the government, he said. And when he talks to family and friends in Ethiopia, Melese said none of them can speak freely about political situations.
“At this time it’s very hard [to know what’s happening in Ethiopia], because there’s nothing open,” he said. “There’s no clean information.”
“To have democracy, you need media,” he added. “The government now controls all things.”
Assefa Delil, a minster counselor at the Ethiopian Embassy, said he doesn’t expect many Ethiopians in America to be interested in these elections. He compares it to the interest overseas Americans have in the U.S. primaries. However, the interest in the country, located in the Horn of Africa, is very large, he said.
“There’s some 27 million voters registered, and this is even bigger than the national elections in 2005,” said Delis. “In May 2005 we had about 23 million.” In a country with almost 80 million people, the third largest in Africa, he sees this as democratic progress.
“It looks democratic, but it’s not,” Yigizaw said. “People have given up hope, they’ve stopped caring politically.” Of Delis, she said, “He holds a government job; he may feel different internally, but he can’t say so.”
The little news that has gotten out of the country all points to an election that will be just as unfair as the last. The ruling party and its affiliates have more candidates than any of the opposition parties, observers say, and many of the parties have faced problems registering, or have yet to receive a license to legally function as a party.
Almost 5 million seats are up for grabs in this local election, 99% of which are allegedly uncontested, as sources say potential candidates are intimidated by the current government and are afraid of being imprisoned.
Delis said that 27 parties are participating in this current election. Anyone can file, he said, so some of the candidates are also independents. While the ruling party may have more candidates, he said this is because many of the opposition parties are newer and therefore have lesser capacities.
“It depends on the capacity of the party,” he said. “You cannot expect everybody to file the same number of candidates … you cannot blame the party that has more capacity.”
Yimer said many of the opposition parties have found financial supporters in the diaspora, many of whom also help the parties network with human-rights organizations. However, he said these numbers are small.
“I think many of the people think of what is happening in Ethiopia and want to help in any way possible,” he said. “But in many ways, they don’t like the government that is in power now they aren’t fully participating in the help and development of the people.”
A proposed bill in Congress will help establish a democratic process in Ethiopia and rekindle hope in its people, Yimer said, which is what the people want.
Melese said the legislation is good for the Ethiopia’s future, and thinks all Ethiopians should support it.
“For Ethiopia, that’s the key,” he said. “That’s the only hope for Ethiopian people, otherwise you cannot have change.”