It is shocking to find an African country that has never held presidential elections. Since Eritrea gained independence two decades ago, it has never held national elections. While local and regional elections are usually conducted through an indirect suffrage system, Eritreans have never had the opportunity to vote for a new president.
The country has been ruled through a one-party system, the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), led by President Isais Afwerki since 1993.
The Current Situation
President Afwerki came into power in 1993 as the first president of the African country after leading the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory in May 1991, gaining independence for Eritrea from Ethiopia. He was chosen by an unelected transitional assembly to serve as president until elections could be held under a new constitution. Elections were scheduled to hold in 1997 but were postponed indefinitely.
The border war with Ethiopia has often been often cited as the reason to not hold elections by the Afwerki led government. But these hostilities ended in 2018 after President Isais Afwerki signed a peace dealwith the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, ending the deadly border war.
However, nothing has changed. Mr Afwerki’s regime remains a repressive one; no elections have held and the 1997 constitution of the country, which recognises universal human rights of Eritreans, remains suspended.
The State of Human Rights in Eritrea
Human Rights Watch reports that the government conscripted Eritreans indefinitely into the military or civil service for low pay, closed independent media outlets since 2001, banned opposition parties as well as labour unions, banned any gathering of more than three people and does not allow freedom of religion with only four religions (Religious denominations) recognised and regulated by the government: Sunni Islam, Eritrean Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Evangelical (Lutheran) churches.
The red sea nation is the world’s most censored country and the sub-Saharan African country with the highest number of journalists behind bars. Amnesty International reports thousands of arrests and incarceration for long periods without trial or opportunity to appeal.
No More Excuses
Democracy watchdog, Freedom House, has urged Eritrea to uphold the rule of law, activate its constitution and hold general elections. Decades of authoritarianism has shrunk economic, political and social growth, and caused the death of institutions. By the end of 2018, over 507,300 Eritreans had fled Eritrea, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), accounting for about 10 per cent of the population.
The consequences of being the world’s most repressive state alongside North Korea has not only triggered a refugee crisis but has placed Eritrea backward economically and without much technological advancement; Internet penetration is only 1%, Eritreans can only make transactions over bank counters and there is only one local television station. Giving room for a new leader can get things to a fresh start in the nation which has about 6 million inhabitants, but who would dare to try?
