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
Abstract. During the time of the election, indigenous minorities face enormous problems and difficulties. At times, their basic democratic rights are not always freely exercised. This paper explores the challenges encountered by one of Ethiopia’s indigenous minorities, the Hararis, during the sixth national election in Ethiopia. A descriptive, qualitative research method was used to investigate the nature of the problem and resolutions came up. Primary data (published legal documents, court cases and formal letters) were collected from various sources. The National Election Board of Ethiopia has inadvertently attempted to prevent the rights of indigenous minority Hararis (living in other parts of the country) from voting for candidates that form the Harari National Assembly. The basic reasons for the National Election Board to do so have no legal justification and are challenged by the federal and regional constitutions, particularly by articles explicitly addressing minorities and Hararis residing outside the Harari region to vote. The final decisions made by the federal cassation court were found to be correct, fair, acceptable, and in concurrence with the federal and regional constitutions. The study found out that the federal and regional constitutions of the country play a prominent role in protecting the rights of minorities to vote.
Keywords. Indigenous minorities; Harari National Assembly; Election; National Election Board of Ethiopia; voting rights.
JEL. F21, F68, O53, K23.
1. Introduction
| I |
a precondition for the establishment of a democratic state. Some of the t is obvious that the participation of citizens in a free and fair election is
basic and mandatory rights that citizens in democratic nations exercise include the right to give their vote freely without any interference, to form a political party, to be a member of a political party, to be elected and to form a government for self‒administration after winning an election.
a† Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey.
. +251911771757
. fatwezir777@yahoo.com
b African Leadership Excellence Academy, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
. +251979677130
. mulunehkassa@yahoo.com
Participation and protection of citizens’ rights during elections, especially those of indigenous minorities, is very crucial since decisions made at local and national government levels affect their lives. Several international human rights declarations (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) clearly emphasize and guarantee the participation of minority ethnic groups in the electoral process.
Ethiopia, located in the eastern part of Africa, is a country endowed with diverse ethnic groups, whereby more than 90 different tribes with 86 languages are spoken. Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populated nation with distinct ethnic, linguistic, religious, and minority groups that have co‒existed for centuries. The current Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) constitutes the federal government’s state members (ten regions and two city administrations). Harari People’s Regional State (HPRS) is one of the smallest member states located in the eastern part of the country with estimation of more than half a million population. It is one of the most ancient City (next to Axum) with various cultural heritages, including the walled city of “Jegol”, which was registered in 2003 by UNESCO as one of the world’s heritages. The indigenous inhabitants that established the city before 1200 belong to the Harari ethnic tribes. The Hararis are the founders of the walled city “Jegol” and are considered as indigenous minority groups due to the small number of their population (estimated to be less than 15%) compared to other ethnic groups in the region.
The indigenous Hararis used to administer their territory for centuries with their own successive kings (about 72 kings). They used to have their own constitution and coins that contributed to the economic transactions of the eastern trade route that extended to Berbera, Zeyla, and India. However, the independent state of Hararis came to an end after its last king (Emir Abdullahi) was defeated by Minilik –II at the battle of Chellenko in 1887. After losing the war, the ancient city became part of the newly unified and established Ethiopia. The indigenous Hararis lost their freedom, land, and were forced into exile. After long years of oppression, injustice and discrimination, the Hararis once again got the chance to self‒administer when the newly established federal democratic republic of Ethiopia was formed in 1991. Harar became one of the 10 regional states with the first democratic election being conducted and the voices of indigenous Hararis came to power. The Hararis formed their own regional state, started to self‒administer and represented their ethnic group both at regional and federal levels.
As part of the FDRE, the newly established HPNRS formulated and implemented a regional constitution. According to article 51 of the regional constitution, the regional parliament/Harari people regional state council (HPRSC) is the highest authority with the power to “initiate every matter relating to economic, social, and developmental policy strategy”. The HPRSC consists of 36 total seats reserved for political candidates freely and democratically elected by the inhabitants of the region. From these 36 total seats, 14 seats are reserved solely for the Harari National Assembly (HNA), for which indigenous minority Hararis run for election. According to article 50 (2) of the Harari regional constitution, members of the HNA are elected by Harari ethnic minorities living inside the Harari region and other regions of Ethiopia (including those living in the two administrative cities, Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa). And in the past five elections, Hararis who live outside the Harari region participated in elections by giving their votes to candidates that run for the 14 seats in the HNA. In addition, Hararis living inside the Harari region and other parts of the country were allowed to give their vote for one seat solely reserved for Harari ethnic groups in the federal parliament.
However, during the sixth national election (2021), the NEBE announced that Hararis who live outside the Harari region should not be allowed to vote for the 14 HNA seats and one federal parliament seat and banned the registration of Hararis living outside the Harari region for election. The current paper aims to investigate the challenges posed by the NEBE to indigenous Harari minorities living outside the Harari region and describes the event/situation in relation to the federal and regional constitutions of the country. The paper presents the details of the dispute between the NEBE and HNA, legal procedures followed by concerned bodies, court cases, and finally resolutions obtained.
2. Objectives of the Study
The objectives of this study are:
- To assess how indigenous minorities, specifically Hararis, are recognized in Ethiopia’s federal and Harari regional state constitutions.
- What are the main challenges confronting the Harari National Assembly during the sixth national and regional elections?
- How does the Harari National Assembly protects the rights of indigenous Hararis in future elections?
3. Methodology
In order to achieve the intended purpose, it is mandatory to clearly explain the appropriate methodology used in this study. A descriptive, qualitative research method was used to investigate the nature of the problem and resolutions came up. Primary data (published legal documents and formal letters) were collected from various sources, including the federal and regional constitutions, the House of People’s Representative Office (HoPRO), HNA, the election board, and the federal supreme and cassation courts. Systematic data analysis was conducted and reported chronologically.