As Ethiopia was preparing to hold its national election, international media outlets were unusually focused on reporting about the country. Several global news organizations, including The Economist, CNN, and Africa News, have been widely broadcasting critical reports targeting the country's security situation and the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
These reports closely examined the conflicts and political differences that have occurred in various parts of the country in the wake of the diplomatic successes Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had achieved since taking office.
The analyses published by international news agencies on the eve of the election mainly focused on the country's stability and democratic process. In an edition titled "Abiy Ahmed's Imperial Vision," The Economist magazine published an article criticizing the Prime Minister’s political ambitions and regional approaches and their potential impact on the country and the Horn of Africa at large.
CNN, for its part, in a wide-ranging report, recalled the Prime Minister winning the Nobel Peace Prize and releasing political prisoners at the beginning of his tenure, but noted that since then, the country has moved toward complex ethnic conflicts and a shrinking political space. This critical CNN report was directly picked up and shared by the Egyptian news outlet, Egypt Independent.
Africa News, meanwhile, reported on the election by noting the constraints on opposition parties' ability to campaign freely and the existing criticisms regarding the country’s human rights record.
However, it is widely suspected that the hand of Egypt, a historical enemy of Ethiopia, is behind these reports. In this regard, it is necessary to recall one specific report. Let us remember the report published by the international news agency Reuters, which claimed that "Ethiopia is providing military aid to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF)," a claim the Ethiopian government officially denied as completely false.
It is remembered that this report was widely circulated at the time, but it was later revealed that the report was written by journalists based in Cairo: Alexander Dziadosz, Nafisa Eltahir, and Ahmed Shalaby. Therefore, since Egypt is known for its lobbyists, it can be assumed that there was an orchestrated conspiracy behind these recent reports and that it was an attempt to create chaos in the country.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also gave a statement to domestic and foreign journalists after casting his vote yesterday in the election at his hometown of Beshasha. In it, he clearly accused "the historical enemies of Ethiopia" of conducting a coordinated propaganda campaign to destroy public trust in the integrity and historical process of the election.
However, he emphasized that no amount of media pressure or external obstacles should be allowed to disrupt or hinder the country's ongoing journey of democratic construction, national reconciliation, and development.
Although international institutions have repeatedly raised concerns about the country's security, voters in areas where the election was held cast their votes starting from 6:00 a.m. yesterday, except in some areas. The official results of the election in the capital, Addis Ababa, and various regions are expected to be announced in the coming days.
