Protection of indigenous minority voting rights in the Ethiopian electoral system:
The case of Harari National Assembly
By Fathe Mahdi WOZIRaa† & Muluneh Kassa ERESSO b
7. The protection of Harari people under Harari regional state constitution
Ethiopia now has ten regions, including the newly formed Sidama regional state. Harari is one of these regions that was established to offer the Harari people autonomy over their own affairs. The Constitution of the FDRE declares that the Harari regional state is one of the nine member states of the FDRE (refer to Art 47 (1) of the FDRE constitution). According to the FDRE constitution, nations, nationalities, and people can govern themselves. In this regard, the present National Regional State of Harari was established immediately upon the ratification of the FDRE constitution in 1994. It should be noted that the Harari region was created primarily for the Harari people. In light of this, Article 8 of the Harari regional state constitution stipulates that all sovereign power resides with the people of Harari (refer to Article 8 of the 2004 revised Harari regional state constitution). The Harari regional state constitution, which was revised in 2004, recognized the Harari people beginning with the preamble, and created a conducive environment for the Harari people to govern themselves. For example, the second and third paragraphs of the 2004 revised Harari regional state constitution explain the following. Recognizing the need for a special representation strategy due to the fact that the Harari people have been displaced due to the movement and struggle of the Harari community at various times to end the oppressive regime in the country. It is clear from this provision that the constitution of the Harari regional state clearly recognizes the indigenous minority Harari community and that there should be a special system of representation for the Harari people within the state.
In addition to the above mentioned, Article 39 of the revised Harari regional state constitution clearly states that the Harari people have the right to self‒government and the right to secession. Hence, Article 39 (1, 2 & 3) of the Harari regional state constitution stipulates that “the people of Harari have the right to preserve their national identity, to preserve their heritage, and to use their language to develop their language and to express their culture. The people of Harari have the right to self‒determination within their own geographical territory and to participate effectively and equitably in the Federal Government of Ethiopia in a free and fair manner. The Harari people have the right to self‒government and have the right to establish self‒governing institutions in their own lands and to have balanced representation in federal administrations”.
Since September 1995, the Harari regional state has had its own regional state constitution that has been enacted and enforced. However, despite the fact that the region is designated as a Harari People’s region, the Harari population is very small in comparison to the rest of the region’s residents. As a result, two separate chambers of parliament were formed with the intention of the people of Harari implementing themselves. Accordingly, one of the councils was the sole representative of the Harari ethnic group and was empowered to legislate and administer the culture, language, and heritage of the nation. The second council, which represents the people of the region, has been able to tax, economic police, and govern the region’s internal administration and executive branch. Accordingly, the Harari Nationalities Council has a total of 36 members in the 14‒member Jegol Special, 4 members of the Jogol regular constituency and 18 members of the constituency outside of Jogol. This was done in the belief that it would provide an affirmative measure for the Harari people and provide a lasting solution.
Article 49 (3) and 50 (2) of the 2004 revised Harari regional state constitution vividly stipulates that “the Harari National Assembly is elected by the Harari ethnic group members found within the region and outside the region in different Ethiopian cities and regions”. This regional state constitutional provision has been supported by the decision of the house of people’s representatives. For example, the Ethiopian transitional government House of Peoples Representatives conducted the 102th ordinary meeting dated 24 Mar 2003 during which it approved such articles as part of the Harari regional state constitution. Members of Harari ethnic groups from outside the Harari region were elected to the HNA in all five national elections. Members of the Harari ethnic group living in Addis Abeba, Dire Dawa, Chiro, Deder, Fedise, Haromaya, Kombolcha, Guresem, and Gigiga cities were elected to the HNA for five consecutive national elections, according to tangible evidence.