It’s the Politics Stupid:

“The Spinning Bottle Version 2.0”

“The decision of the ELF-RC to accept the election of any consensual candidate has saved the day and helped to avoid a crisis in the election of a new Executive Chairman. Therefore, I say we must register commendation for the ELF-RC”.

 

Mohammed Nur Ahmed,

Chairman of the meeting of 13 organizations for the election of chairmen for the Executive and Legistlative bodies of the EDA

If my memory is right, the year was 1972/1973 and Ethiopian parliament elections were in a full swing.  In Senhit the contestants include; the legend Tewelde Beyne, Tewelde Gebresselassie(chairman elect of current EDA), and many others.  Of course, Tewelde Byne, the voice of peasants won it easily where Osman also beat Mekonen Mengesha easily in Keren.  The irony is that Tewelde Gebresselassie was just a university student at Asmara University (aka Santa Familia University) and most probably an underground cell member of ELF.  How chain of life circles to its originality is beyond this writing.

EDA member organizations leaders deserve congratulations for their united conference outcome but volatile process.  And also it is within the spirit of the time to congratulate its chairman elect, Mr. Tewelde Gebresselassie.  Organizations built on full grudge, mistrust and with negative upbringing relations to expect them .to unify overnight is trying to achieve the impossible.  One can only expect the reality and the reality is, believing in the urgency and laying the foundation for an umbrella of united governance. 

Thanks also to Mohamed Nur Ahmed of the EDP for taking a courageous position in informing the public about the critical situation that the leadership have to overcome.  I   believe it was handled brilliantly by RC chairman in sacrificing the right of the organization and the right of the candidate for the sake of unity and the bigger picture on stake.  I hope the rest of the organizations will follow suit to the visionary and forward thinking action taken by RC in future decisions.  I am not sure why the rest of the candidates pull out their names I will leave that to the reader to take a note.  They should have allowed the process of democracy work itself out by letting the votes cast to every candidate.  In any engagement that the EDA conducts unless it is accompanied by sincerity and openness, trust won’t be achieved.

Thirty five plus years later Mr. Tewelde Gebresselassie ran for another election and won at this time without any competition.  Tewelde is now at the helm of EDA.  For those of you who don’t know much of the leaders of the opposition, Tewelde has been on the helm of Sagim for almost of thirty years.  By the way don’t be surprised Tewelde is not alone, most of the leaders in the opposition have been in power for thirty plus years.  This is a subject we can discuss next time.  So, what is expected from the new chairman? 

We are in a critical juncture of our journey.  It is a time for do or die.  Mr. Tewelde has to reconcile the past and march EDA to the future.  Will he be an ethical and a unifier or will he be an atrocious and divisive?  Will he be visionary and forward thinker or will he be closed box thinker?  Time will tell us how he will be judged at the end of his term.  If he builds a bridge of unity and engagement he will be remembered as the turning point leader at a crucial time on the other hand if he plays the old plot of sectarian and elimination politics he will be remembered as the pariah of history.  In short his plate is full of to do list.  Which one of them will he accomplish if any?

The volatile history of ENA/EDA in the recent past by itself can give us the glimpse of mountainous obstacles facing the new chapter of EDA.  The roots of mistrust that has long penetrated and infected the brain cells of our community are not an easy task to remedy.  I hope the new chairman will start his duty with a positive attitude to overcome the mountain obstacles in front of him.  First thing to do is to answer the urgency the dying nation is requesting, save the people.  To achieve this, the chairman has to restore trust within the leadership body itself.  Of course first thing is first, the chairman himself needs to conduct his duties ethically that means doing the right things.  The core ethical values are; honest, integrity, promise-keeping, fidelity, loyalty, fairness, caring, compassion, and respect for others. Allow me to describe in depth each of these valuable terms:

§         Honesty – truthful, straightforward, sincere, and candid.  It is not deceptive, tricky, and misleading.

§         Integrity – honorable, has courage of conviction, stand up for beliefs.  It is not weak, hypocritical, and dishonorable.

§         Promise-Keeping – reliable, dependable, always strives to keep commitments.

§         Fidelity/Loyalty – faithful, respects another’s privacy, and doesn’t compromise confidentiality.

§         Fairness – just, open, not prejudiced, doesn’t discriminate, not arbitrary and self-serving.

§         Caring/Compassion – considerate, kind, sharing, and charitable.  It is not selfish, manipulative or controlling.

§         Respect for others – respects freedoms, dignity, and respects rights of others.

§         Personal responsibility/Accountability – considers consequences and accepts responsibility for actions and inactions.  Doesn’t shift blame or make excuses.

Each time we make a decision to stand for what is right, even if it costs us something; we reinforce our own moral character and influence others.  History is made and lives are changed not by those who follow the crowd, but those who are prepared to take the ultimate risk and stand up for what is right.

Our daily life; family, work, school, and politics are founded on trust.  An environment that is not governed by trust is destined to fail.  At this junction of our journey the stakes are high to let go.  The chairman should realize once trust is establish the rest is a matter of operational process waiting to be executed.

One thing worth mentioning from the last EDA conference is the presence of the civic society, religious leaders and professionals.  Although I haven’t read or heard anything of their role yet, I hope they will share with the public about their experience.  May be it was their presence that made it happen this time.  And I believe it is within the spirit to ask if they were partial or impartial.  What was their overall assessment?  At least on one occasion we have witnessed some discrepancies that came out of Gedab news and Mohamed Nur Ahmed on the account of the candidacy.  I thought it was a déjà vu again, meaning “the spinning bottle” came back to life again.  My hope and belief is that they were impartial and instrumental in shaping an umbrella of unity governance that represents future Eritrea.  If they weren’t, then they shouldn’t claim to be civic societies.  They should proclaim as a political organization that aspire power and political agenda.

In reality the chairman is a single person.  The collective executive committee and the legislative body at the same time have to have the willing and the spirit to work together openly and sincerely in addressing the urgent matter.  There is no question that the differences are deep and shallow but the stake on hand is uncompromising.  I don’t have a problem any leader or organization for that matter in seeking power but power need to be achieved the right way, through constitutional election. 

In conclusion I call on all citizens to rally behind EDA and the chairman to uproot PFDJ and erect pillars of democratic governance.  The chairman and the executive body should reach out and mobilize all Eritreans inside the country and abroad.  They should take this opportunity and mend old negative and divisive politics and seed unified and collective politics.  Let’s promote our people not demote them, let’s unify them not divide them, let’s deliver them joy not sadness, let’s bring them hope not despair, let’s bring them faith not doubt, and let’s bring them light not darkness.  History tell us that the Eritrean people in general are good spirited people who wish good things to happen to their brothers/sisters and don’t want to hurt each other.  It is just that the politics is stupid.  As Booker T. Washington said one time, “success is not measured by the position you reach in life, it is measured by the obstacles you overcome”.  Mr. Chairman you have the chance this time.  Do the right thing.  Let’s tear the walls of mistrust.

LET THE PEOPLE HAVE A VOICE!