Overall Process of 6th General Election Step Forward in Building Democracy: Discussants Remark

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Addis Ababa July 27/2021 (ENA) The overall process of the 6th General Election is encouraging and a step forward for building strong democracy in the country, discussants at ‘Addis Weg’ platform said.

The discussants made the remark at the ‘Addis Weg’ platform hosted by the Press Secretariat Unit of the Office of the Prime Minister today.

The role of stakeholders, the media and civic organizations in the 6th General Election was the discussed point at the forum.

During the discussion, Addis Ababa University Political Science and International Relations Professor Kassahun Berhanu said democracy is needed to strengthen the country.

According to him, the political leadership was committed to making the election democratic and participatory.

He also praised the progress made by the Joint Council of Political Parties in resolving problems in the process.

The election has not only improved from the previous elections in many ways but also opened a new chapter in Ethiopia's ongoing democracy building, the professor noted.

National Information Security Service Deputy Director-General, Sisay Tola said on his part that the government had established a national task force to conduct the election peacefully.

Efforts were also made to safeguard the public and maintain peace and security during the election, he noted.

The deployment of security forces was based on a national security risk analysis and that the preparation was a unique experience in terms of technology, according to the deputy director-general.

Although there were many factors that have made the election safe, Sisay particularly thanked  the people for their support.

Destiny Ethiopia Initiative Coordinator, Negusu Aklilu said the 6th General Election was different from the other elections in that the political parties came together to solve their problems.

The participation of the electoral board, government bodies, political parties, the media, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders in the election process was encouraging, he noted.

He further mentioned the neutrality of the judiciary, the security forces, and the media was better than ever.

Ethiopian News Agency CEO, Seife Derbe recalled that there were internal and external forces working to disrupt the election.

However, he stressed that both the private and public media outlets worked in conjunction for Ethiopia to win the election.

The media are playing significant role in mitigating the efforts to destroy Ethiopia even after the post-election period, he pointed out.

Participants of the discussion on their part said the election is a step forward in Ethiopia's democracy building.

Ethiopian News Agency
2023