Obama Calls Ethiopian Government ‘Democratically Elected’

In a speech, Obama referred to Ethiopia as Democratically Elected.

And of course, the Prime Minister was present.

Not a good week for Obama and his "talking" points.

Ethiopia is not all that "Democratic".

But I know Obama means well and likes Ethiopia's style of government.

In a speech President Obama delivered in the presence of Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, he twice referred to Ethiopia’s government as “democratically elected” despite the fact its parliament has no opposition members.

Desalegn leads the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of left-wing parties, and has been in office since August 2012. Last May, the EPRDF won all 546 seats in national elections. Prior to the election, the opposition held a grand total of one seat, which the EPRDF regained. Needless to say, Freedom House classifies Ethiopia as “unfree”:

In 2014 the Ethiopian government continued to suppress free speech and associational rights, shattering hopes for meaningful reform under Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. Government harassment and arrest of prominent opposition and media members continued, including the April arrest of nine journalists who were charged under Ethiopia’s controversial antiterrorism law. In April and May, massive protests in Oromia Regional State broke out following the announcement of the planned expansion of Addis Ababa into Oromia. At least 17 people died after the military fired on unarmed protesters.

Obama Calls Ethiopian Government ‘Democratically Elected’; Its Parliament Has No Opposition Members

I bet they have a real honest vote over there

According to the Democracy Index published by the United Kingdom-based Economist Intelligence Unit in late 2010, Ethiopia is an "authoritarian regime", ranking as the 118th most democratic out of 167 countries. Ethiopia has dropped 12 places on the list since 2006, and the latest report attributes the drop to the regime's crackdown on opposition activities, media and civil society before the 2010 parliamentary election, which the report argues has made Ethiopia a de facto one-party state.

Ethiopia !!

Hmmm. Sounds Familiar. I "know" Obama Likes Ethiopia !!

a reply to: xuenchen

Of course he likes their government, this is exactly the type of democratic, cough, government him and his Elite handlers would like to see.

Get in office, silence your opposition, and declare democracy.

Definition-Change You Can Believe In!!

1 + 1 = 3

a reply to: xuenchen

Jimmy Carter didn't say Etheopia's election was "democratically-elected" because he wants only Ayatollahs placed.

Like Iran and USA.

a reply to: xuenchen

Obama Calls Ethiopian Government ‘Democratically Elected’ when the EPRDF won all 546 seats in national elections.

Given this; how the bloody hell can they say that Russia 'annexed' Crimea when they voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining Russia.

This demonstrates just how morally bankrupt the US govt is even in the eyes of the whole world.

Then again, perhaps he looking at from the perspective of his ideas of what democratic means, a guide to his future actions perhaps

First lets at least get the facts straight. The EPRDF won 500 of the seats and other parties that are friendly to them the other 46. The opposition party, that only held one seat, lost it. The AU monitored the polls and reported no problems. Now this is Africa and you can bet shenanigans went on and it still has some remnants from its authoritarian days, as democracy goes in Africa it is doing a better job than most. The fact that the ruling party is so popular means they can have pretty legit elections.

The main reason the ruling party is so popular is that Ethiopia has gone from a starving nation and one of the Worlds poorest and become Africa's economic miracle. Mostly the result of state controlled growth. It has had double digit economic growth for a decade, cut the poverty rate by over 40%, instead of getting food aid, it imports wine for a growing middle class, life expectancy has gone form the mid 40s to the mid 60s, it took it huge military budget and redirected to the economy and remains a key regional power. When life has gotten so much better people do not tend to sign up for the opposition. Which also means they are more willing to overlook phones calls being listened to and other things that resemble the Patriot Act in the US.

So is Ethiopia a Democracy? Yes. A perfect one? No not even close. However, the ruling party is massively popular with its people for obvious reasons. And it is much easier to have elections when your people love you. If that ever changes then we will see if Ethiopia keeps its slow path to a more free Democracy or turns back to is long tradition of dictatorship.

For the US of course Ethiopia along with Kenya are its main power brokers in the that part of Africa. Both tasked with keeping Somalia together and wiping out Islamic extremists. So even if this nations were more Saudi Arabia and less South Africa the US would still be heavily engaged with them.

originally posted by: Azureblue

Then again, perhaps he looking at from the perspective of his ideas of what democratic means, a guide to his future actions perhaps

It's almost looks like Obama is the front man for some kind of new set-up.