American-Ethiopian Public Affairs Committee
PRESS RELEASE
Ethiopian Americans Made the Difference for the Republicans in Virginia
Ethiopian Americans in Virginia have helped deliver an unexpected win for the Republican Party in Virginia’s gubernatorial governor election.
Close to 100,000 Ethiopian-Americans live in Virginia, and many have for weeks been highlighting their anger with the Biden White House over its policy on the tragic and continuing conflict in Ethiopia.
Despite attempts by the American-Ethiopian Public Affairs Committee (AEPAC), Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe refused to put his support behind challenging President Biden’s approach, particularly on sanctions.
In contrast, Republican candidate and now Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin promised to expand the State’s trading relations with Ethiopia, if he was to take office.
AEPAC, which has been running an on the ground operation for the past 6 weeks, confirmed a large protest vote did take place, with thousands of Ethiopians switching from Democrat to Republican for the very first time.
In September, President Biden threatened the Ethiopian Government with wide-ranging sanctions if it didn’t engage in political discussions with the Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF). The move angered the majority of the American-Ethiopian diaspora, who view the TPLF as a terrorist organisation threatening the country’s hard-fought journey to democracy and economic liberalisation.
On election day, President Biden gave notice that Ethiopia would be removed from the trading benefits set out in the African Growth and Opportunities Act, a move that will see 200,000 Ethiopian jobs lost.
A recent poll conducted by People to People of 2,500 members of the Ethiopian American community found while 79% considered themselves Democrats, 61% of those intended to change their vote to the Republican Party due to White House’s policy on Ethiopia.
Chairman of AEPAC Mesfin Tegenu said:
Ethiopian-Americans have a proud history of supporting the Democratic Party. There is no doubt that community support helped President Biden secure victory in key swing states such as Georgia, Arizona and Pennsylvania in 2020.
However, Ethiopian-Americans feel desperately let down by the President and Democratic Members of Congress. They have shown sympathy towards an insurgency determined to undermine Ethiopia’s democratic and economic progress and have failed to constructively engage the Ethiopian Government. Instead, this Administration has opted for a misguided and contradictory approach with aggressive rhetoric and sanctions that will hurt ordinary Ethiopians.”
“The community in Virginia have clearly had enough and this frustration has helped deliver a real upset. We at AEPAC look forward to working constructively with Glenn Youngkin during his term in office to strengthen relations between Ethiopia and the U.S.”
Link to the People to People poll: myethiopedia.com/Documents/Ethio_Poll_1_MY.pdf
About AEPAC: The American Ethiopian Public Affairs Committee is dedicated to promoting a positive relationship between the United States and Ethiopia. AEPAC’s core mission is to strengthen and enhance the century-old relationship between the United States and Ethiopia. AEPAC is a voluntary, non-profit, non-connected, public affairs organization that is not affiliated with any political party or with any specific candidate for election.
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Well done guys! This must continue until the democrats feel the real pain that they are inflicting on Ethiopians.
Copy that!
The result of this election may make many among us feel good. That was it. We will see if the ban from AGOA will be reversed on January 20, 2022 or even 2023 if the republicans take control of either one or both houses of Congress. At this point and if the recent polls continues in their current tracks, I don’t know how Biden is gonna win again, then el-Sisi will be proposed to ‘blow up’ the GERD. By then Ethiopia has already descended into utter disarray open for just a single commando unit to come in and help itself in whatsoever it wants to do. Our crying and moaning will go on as long as we continue to blame others for our own faults. It also worries me that elections here being more and more influenced by interest groups. As a result innocent candidates may be victimized. There are democrats who oppose the ban from AGOA and there are also republicans who also oppose the same ban. Who knows we may elect a QAnon candidate into office because he/she might have said something about the old country to make us feel good. If this comment finds me wrong or too skeptic either in January 2022 or 2023 hit me for it. I am a big boy enough to accept deserved criticism and apologize.
There is no guarnatee the elected would fulfill the interest of EthioEritreans either it is all about who controls both parties. It is becoming more evident this two tier system parties are divisive for societies.
please, stop mimicking organization
You guys are completely full of SHIT. There are not that many registered voters of Ethiopian descent in the State of Virginia, and if every single one of them voted for Youngkin in the election, it would have amounted to an insignificant sum. I’m sorry you are disappointed in Biden’s administration for not supporting Abiy’s administration, but please don’t put out “alternative facts” to try and get sympathy for your cause. There’s too much B.S. on the internet already.
You are wrong on that matter. There is a very prominent ethiopian community in Viriginia. If a population that is consistently voting for Democrats votes for Republican the numbers are swayed and that is shown from the results of the vote, that is a fact. The people make the change and this is the first sign that we are done with a democracy that only works for America but for African countries is pushed to the side.
Did you just admit supporting the interactions, QAnon Tramplican republican party? Still no assurance he will fulfil his promise. Local election is about local issues like healthcare, education, housing etc.
Americans are Bule they can note think as ahuman being there mind is anes members of 666
we dont want them yes we can by the help of Olmighty God