THE ETHIOPIAN ELECTORAL SYSTEM: ISSUES AND RE

Abstract

In modern democracy, parliamentary representatives need to be elected. However, this may not necessarily warrant all democratic virtues unless the electoral system which translates the votes into seats is crafted rightly to maintain and to encourage fair election, , legitimacy of the government, multipartism and interdependence among rival politicians and the groups they represent thereby promoting inclusive and trustworthy democracy. The latter benefits of democracy are highly demanded in diversified societies and societies with poor political culture of tolerance, like Ethiopia. In this regard, this article investigated the discontents of the Ethiopian electoral system, ‘first-past-the-post’ (FPFP) taking empirical data from the 2005, 2010 and 2015 general elections. To this end, Key informant interviews with the opposition and the incumbent parties were conducted. The author’s own observation together with the available literature was employed. The findings revealed that the FPTP electoral system is ill-designed to Ethiopia as it negatively affects fairness in representation, legitimacy of government, multipartism and the behavior of the political parties.