• Abiy heaps praise on ‘a woman of unwavering conviction”
• A critic points out a flowed political process in the appointment
  

Ethiopia’s former opposition leader Birtucan Mideksa has been appointed as National Electoral Board’s new chairperson.

Birtucan replaces Samia Zekaria who was appointed to the position last year. The reasons for Samia’s departure had not been not disclosed.

Birtucan’s name was put forward by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has named a series of women to top posts, and MPs approved the appointment with majority vote, 4 against and 3 abstentions.

A woman with unwavering conviction of fairness and justice, in no way willing to compromise on these in deference to authority

Prime Minsiter Abiy praised the chairperson, describing her as “a woman with unwavering conviction of fairness and justice, in no way willing to compromise on these in deference to authority, be it government or anyone else, and one who demonstrated her commitment in practice, in full view of the public paying heavy price for the cause she held dear.”

Birtucan who has just returned home after seven years in exile at the invitation of the Ethiopian government would first form a committee who would be responsible for restructuring of the board, it was learnt. A fundamental change is considered to to restore faith in electoral board and ensure the independence of the board, including changing its name.

“She has the knowledge, experience, independence of character, and the strong leadership the institution needs at this critical time: a former judge, a former prisoner of conscience,” Awol Allo, Lecturer in Law at Keele University  tweeted.

Questions about appointment process

Some others are less appreciative, pointing to a flawed political process in the appointment. Jawar Mohammed of the Oromo Media Network (OMN) says that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has not consulted major opposition parties before the appointment, even though the existing electoral law states he should.

Prime Minister Abiy has promised a “free and fair election” in 2020, which would finally ensure a stable, democratic poltical system.

Birtucan, a former judge and the leader of Ethiopia’s Unity and Democracy for Justice Party, was freed on October 2011, after spending more than three years behind bars. She was among opposition activists who were jailed for life after the controversial 2005 election. They were pardoned, but Birtukan was sent back to prison after speaking publicly in Sweden in November 2008 about the process that had led to her release.

During her stay in the United States, Birtucan has obtained an MA in Public Administration at Harvard’s Kennedy School.

Main Image: Birtucan at her residence listening to Professor Mesin Woldemariam, renowned academic and founder of the Human Rights Council of Ethiopia, who had dropped in after her release from prison on October 2011. Ethiopia Observer file.

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