Introduction Ethiopia conducted its sixth national election on June 21, 2021, in the midst of enormous political, security, economic, and geopolitical challenges; and the election culminated with a sweeping victory by the Prosperity Party. As it is often stressed, the mass media plays a pivotal role in making the exercise of freedom of expression and information a reality.
Media freedom is vital for keeping citizens informed. That is to say that the media inform the public about matters of public interest and act as a watchdog over government. Informing the public and acting as a watchdog are the two aspects of the media that constitute the democratic role of the media. As such, the media ensure democratic electoral process in either of the following categories: by serving as transparency or watchdog; by serving as a campaign platform; by serving as an open forum for debate and discussion; and by serving as public educator. As the Commonwealth Election Broadcasting Guidelines states, “Free and democratic political processes must include elections whose credibility cannot be doubted by any voter, candidate or observer. The delivery of such credibility is very much in the hands of the media.” It is, thus, fitting to attempt to assess how the Ethiopian media, particularly the mainstream media, has fared in its engagement with the electoral process, which encompasses the pre- election, election, and post-election periods.
As media and politics have constitutive relationships, a sound assessment of media‟s engagement in the electoral process cannot be made without situating the electoral process within its proper political context. Thus, in this piece, an attempt is made to summarize Ethiopia‟s political trajectory in the post-EPRDF period so that we would have a better understanding of its interaction with the electoral process, and if this interaction has enabled or constrained the media‟s engagement in the electoral process.
Since this is a rapid assessment undertaken in a short period, a sophisticated and rigorous methodological approach has not been followed. However, an attempt has been made to conduct brief interviews with political party representatives, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, and an NGO engaged in the defense of democracy in Ethiopia. Accordingly, Prosperity Party (PP), Balderas for Genuine Democracy Party (Balderas), Enat Party, the Amhara National Movement (NAMA), Freedom and Equality Party, NEBE, and Center for the Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD) were approached via phone and/or email. Of these, Prosperity Party (PP), the Amhara National Movement (NAMA), and Balderas responded positively to the request, and were interviewed accordingly.
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