Can Birtukan Mideska unite Ethiopian opposition?

Ethiopia is a crucial emerging democracy that has suffered from a fractious political opposition, with dozens of parties competing in the 2005 election, aligned into two main opposition groups. They attempted some unity AFTER the election, but by then the damage had been done. Refusing to enter parliament after attaining almost 160 seats (up from 12), was a bizarre sign of immaturity that robbed Ethiopia of the powerful democratic opposition it badly needed.



With national elections just over two years away and the political opposition still divided among two or more camps, perhaps the beautiful and intelligent Birtukan Mideska can become a unifying force and provide her nation with a credible and worthy alternative to the PM and the EPRDF. It may not be her who emerges, but it will be good for the nation if the opposition leader is prepared to run in 2010, 2015 and 2020, because it may require 5 years as Official Leader of the Opposition before a new leader gains enough popularity to lead a new party or coalition to government. And even if the opposition did win in 2010, Meles Zenawi would still be young enough to engage in powerful campaigns in 2015 and 2020.

Following article from Nazret.com:

Ethiopia - Former CUD elects supreme council members

By Kirubel Tadesse

Source: Capital

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Losing the party’s name to Ayele Chamiso’s group and its election emblem to Lidetu Ayalew’s (MP) party, the former Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), an opposition party in Ethiopia, which is now operating as two separate groups; one led by Engineer Hailu Shawl and the other by first vice president Birtukan Medeksa, has elected sixteen new members for its supreme council in the presence of nine out of fifteen executive committee members.

Sources told Capital that the sixteen new members of the supreme council include Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, who did not want to be part of any leadership and twelve Members of Parliament including Temesgen Zewidie (MP). According to the source, the four members, including Prof. Mesfin and Aserat Tase were elected out of twelve nominees presented from the Birtukan’s group and the MPs were nominated from the Temesgen Zewidie (MP) group, which is now participating in the House of People’s Representatives as parliament group after Ayele Chamiso won the legal battle for the name ‘CUD’.

The election of the supreme council members came after the meeting of the supreme council members which were originally elected in the May 2005 national elections, ordered the executive committee to elect new members.

Even if some members of the executive committee are too missing, sources explain that nine out of an original fifteen attended the appointment of the sixteen new members of the supreme council. According to the sources, the final appointment of the members was decided in a meeting held on Friday, February 1, 2008.

The sixteen elected members are to replace the council’s members which have spent more than six months abroad, and those who informed their decision of retiring from the party. They are also to replace the members of the council which withdrew from the coalition along side Lidetu Ayalew (MP) to continue in their won original party.

Even if sixteen new members are elected and eighteen to twenty others are working with the Birtukan group and some with Engineer Hailu, many are still missing but the source explains that Birtukan’s group want first to finalize any possible reconciliation or talks of a split before replacing the remaining members. The executive and supreme council members who are working under Engineer Hailu didn’t participate in the nomination or election of the sixteen members of the council.

Sources also explain that Birtukan Medikisa and Temesgen Zewidie (MP) are expected to give the first joint press conference stating the appointment of the supreme council members and the possible process of forming a new party.

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