 affirm that credible, just, and competitive elections are indispensable to political pluralism, economic justice, sustainable peace, and regional stability.){kind=link}
Statement by Ethiopians Cooperate for Victory and Transition (ECVT)
The members of Ethiopians Cooperate for Victory and Transition (ECVT) affirm that credible, just, and competitive elections are indispensable to political pluralism, economic justice, sustainable peace, and regional stability. We stand with all Ethiopians in demanding free, fair, and competitive elections and a genuine democratic transition. The last eight years of Abiy Ahmed’s rule have been marked by political assassinations, mass displacement, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, and wars against Ethiopia’s own citizens. Widespread human rights abuses continue with impunity. Amid this reality, the Prosperity Party regime is preparing for a national election scheduled for June 1, 2026, even though pre-election activities suggest the election is a façade rather than a genuine effort.
Conducting elections amid widespread violations of constitutional rights and severe persecution under a state of emergency rule will only deepen instability, inflame unrest, and further endanger the country’s unity. Proceeding amid death, destruction, and deprivation of life-sustaining necessities mocks democracy and offends human decency. Although it is clear that the only way to extract our country from the cycle of despotic rule is through a sincere, transparent, fair, and inclusive election involving all political forces, the current reality makes such an election unthinkable, let alone feasible. This is a public fact.
Therefore, recognizing that it is impossible to hold a national election in the current state of war, crisis, and general upheaval in our country, the Ethiopian Cooperate for Victory and Transition maintains that, for credible elections to be possible, peace and security must come first. Therefore, we:
1. Demand an immediate end to the ongoing conflicts, the withdrawal of all federal forces from any “law enforcement” operations within Ethiopia, and the commencement of good-faith negotiations to address the root causes of the conflict.
2. Urge the government to ensure unrestricted humanitarian access to all conflict-affected areas, instead of disruptions to conduct sham elections. 3. Call on Ethiopians and political forces to reject the planned elections as exclusionary and illegitimate.
4. Encourage the youth to refuse to participate in forced military conscription for fratricidal wars.
5. Press Ethiopian leaders to halt the sham election process and instead prepare for an inclusive, transparent, and genuine national consultation led by an independent body, with a goal of creating a national consensus that leads to a transition.
Finally, we have a call to all parties. Let us agree that elections should be a political mechanism that sustains peace and democracy, rather than a tool that serves autocrats to shore up and consolidate their power. Let us affirm that a genuine, inclusive national dialogue—capable of creating national consensus and leading to a transition—should precede elections. Let us express our commitment to these goals with a unified voice.
The Executive Committee of the Ethiopians Cooperate for Victory and Transition
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