And the winner is..
May 22, 2008 at 11:34 am 2 comments
On Wednesday 21 May 2008, the Caretaker Administration of Berhane Deressa handed over Addis Ababa’s key to the new administration of EPRDF. Kuma Demekssa, Ex-Minister of Defense and (according to Fortune newspaper) father of Seven, was sworn in as the 29th Mayor of Addis in 122 years. And where did this handing-over take place? At the “Addis Ababa Theatreina Bahil Adarash”!!
How fitting, won’t you say? 🙂
I mean, I’ve repeatedly stated how I threw my ballot in favor of, or voted for, EPRDF at the 2005 Hagerawi election. And I’m not about to apologize for it! I still love Meles, the person, and believe if EPRDF had as good Head of propaganda department as War Strategy, it would have gotten away with more than it did/or didn’t!
However, the recent by-election drama in which EPRDF took control, “stole” some might say but I ain’t one of those some ;-), of Region 14 (as if we could have had it any other way :-)), was too comical to pass off. The final touch, however, was exquisite! The icing on the cake, you might say! Confirming, once and for all, the almost cultural trend Ethiopian politics followed (KeEndalkachew Kabine jemiro, I might add) and the theatrical way they tried to cover it up.
Theatre and Culture, there you have it!
Entry filed under: Latest Posts. Tags: Election 2005, Ethio-Politics.
My e-Shoe Box 
1.
sira salata | May 23, 2008 at 5:49 pm
let me be positive to accept EPRDF’s current moves…what else can I do?????? I was also a fan of Meles. personally a kind of admiring the way he makes things ‘ safe’ to his stand. well, I still believe that the elected party (CUD) and the mayor were incapable, rather shamefully incapable, for the position. I ain’t also think EPRDF has stolen the peoples’ choice in a way the oppositions speak off. They might have done some fakes.. ha but not that really deep to erase CUD’s 51%, that was for me an illusion. In 2005 election, I chose CUD, for which i regret of my choice too much.
However……I am really seeing a very bad spirit of EPRDF’s recent moves, they are totally childish. We know Kuma Demekssa, he doesn’t really fit to the chair, i mean he is not that efficient to handle being a mayor of a city like Addis with so many probs in it. But, I still see one angle , EPRDF trying to soften questions from oromoo. It might be the case why they put him there or it may be that he is the real chosen one?????hah I should taste that so hardly. If they are thinking to play racial games on such levels that requires personnel quality, it must be that they don’t still uplevel their politic minds from where it had been in the Dergue era. Anyways let them do what they intend to do!!!!!!!!!
‘ minalebet gin lefetari bilew, endew sile gulbetachew bilew, ere endew be mariam, be silasse bilew enkuan yihen ye baby play bitewut ‘
hah……need to take beers than thinking of my country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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abesheet | May 26, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Lol, Sira. True! EPRDF’s propaganda people are the worst propaganda people on earth. Or atleast.. that’s how it feels every time you turn the TV on. How about the “addis Quanqua programs”?! It seems to me, you want your “quanqua” to get ETV’s attention, start a liberation front!! It’s THAT absurd!
Coming to the subject of Kuma’s election for Mayor of Finfinne (for some reason, I feel we need to get used to referring to good ole Addis that from now on) it may or may not be well deserved. Remains to be seen, doesn’t it?!. However, it indeed does look race-related politics.
Problem is, I never had the impression Oromos ever thought OPDF (or however it’s spelt) represented them. I’ve even heard some grumble Mr. Demekssa was half Eritrean. But then again, isn’t that what is said of every member of EPRDF’s central committee?! 🙂 If anything, they’d probably feel insulted like was the case with Dr. Negasso Gidada. Whom i have the utmost respect for, by the way, for he knew whence to bow out! The art of staying out, he may have found tricky! But nobody is perfect!