The role of the urban vote in Ethiopia's elections in 2005

Résumé 0

On May 15, 2005 general elections were held in Ethiopia and, for the first time, the opposition officially did well, especially in many cities. This raises questions as to what the unique characteristics of the urban vote are, or perhaps as to the reality of a rejection vote better expressed in cities. The economic situation remains one of the preferred indicators for explaining the quagmire in which the inhabitants of small cities find themselves. These populations are often tempted to vote strongly for regionalist entities, while at the same time, in these same cities, the automatic vote in favor of the current power is preferred as a buffer against an "ethnically" different back country. The belief in the concept of a rural sphere, which is politically derived from the coalition in power, is based on memories of the coalition's years of struggle, as well as on the subordination of rural populations by the government, a common practice in Ethiopia. However, in the countryside near the cities or close to main transport routes, the rural population has diversified their economic strategies to increasingly include trade with the urban market. All these observations point to an individualistic urban population with a global outlook. They are currently more prevalent in the large cities like Addis Ababa, but nonetheless have the potential to be influential throughout the country. This urban positioning that is breaking with the dominant discourse of the rights of ethnic groups in the sense of "nations, nationalities and peoples", could thus eventually be an alternative political agenda for the entire country.