Ethiopia, a federal structure housing twelve regional states and two chartered cities, is itself preparing for the seventh national election scheduled for June 2026.<\/p>\n
Despite concerns from opposition parties about security and freedom of movement, officials of the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) are plowing ahead. Nearly 2,200 parliamentary candidates and over 8,700 regional candidates have registered, while election officials said last week that more than nine million voters had completed registration.<\/p>\n
The election is shaping up to be as large or even larger than the 2021 vote, but questions about transparency linger. Here, a lesson could be drawn from Germany, where the election process is led by data and information sourced solely from the German Statistical Office, an independent public institution.<\/p>\n
Looking past the election process, the German government offers lessons in autonomy. In Ethiopia, the central government exercises far more power than its regional counterparts, leaving them partially or wholly dependent on it in terms of political decisions, as well as financially.<\/p>\n
Unlike in Germany, states in Ethiopia cannot also conduct elections independently from the federal government. For instance, following Tigray region\u2019s effort to conduct elections separately, a deadly conflict erupted between federal and Tigray forces in 2020, lasting two years.<\/p>\n
Besides the many features that help keep power in check in Germany\u2019s federal structure and its public institutions, there are also human elements to governance in Europe\u2019s largest economy. For instance, at the Bundesrat, a room inside the council facility in Berlin is reserved for prayer and meditation by its members.<\/p>\n
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Germany\u2019s Helping Hand<\/strong><\/p>\n Germany has a strong presence in Ethiopia, where it backs several initiatives and projects, mainly in peace and security, humanitarian and development endeavors.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are supporting the Ethiopian government in terms of the peace process, among other things. We also support administrative procedure law and judicial law reforms at the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice. We are supporting transitional justice and national dialogue initiatives in Ethiopia. We are supporting Ethiopia\u2019s economic reform that is also supported by the IMF. We are implementing various projects across several sectors in Ethiopia through GIZ. We are supporting the TVET program in Ethiopia through the Ministry of Labor and Skills. We are adopting the German dual policy system regarding TVET, which is learning and practicing skills at the same time. We are also supporting refugee programs, humanitarian works, stabilization and peace building programs. We support the implementation of the Pretoria agreement,\u201d officials from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Ethiopian journalists who attended a conference in the country last week.<\/p>\n Among the issues they touched on was what they described as a “concerning” shrinking of the civic and media spaces in Ethiopia.<\/p>\n This is one area where there are stark differences, yet also similarities, between Ethiopia and Germany.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t interfere in media freedom, but that freedom being used by foreign powers against Germany\u2019s national interest. When German media report serious issues about the German government, foreign media and powers exploit such reports. Especially since the Ukraine-Russia war, foreign interference in the media, the targeting of politicians, polarization of public opinion, and patterns of information manipulation have surged,\u201d said the German officials. <\/p>\n In Ethiopia, as the nation prepares to head to the polls, the government has ramped up a crackdown on the press,<\/p>\n Over the past few months alone, the Ethiopian Media Authority has revoked the licenses of Wazema<\/em> and Addis Standard<\/em>, and refused to renew accreditation for correspondents working for the German Deutsche Welle.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are concerned about the shrinking civic and media spaces in Ethiopia,\u201d said the officials.<\/p>\n In attempting to address the wide vacuum between press freedom and access to information in Ethiopia, Germany\u2019s Federal Press Conference (Bundespresseconferenz) could be an exemplary solution. Established by the association of journalists, the Federal Press Conference has its own press briefing facility financed by member journalists. Government officials are invited and offer one or two process briefing sessions at the facility each week. The Chancellor comes once or twice a year, and every journalist enjoys the access to ask questions through this platform.<\/p>\n On another note, German officials also expressed alarm over Ethiopia\u2019s growing interest in securing maritime access, as well as the potential repercussions for the Horn.<\/p>\n![\"|](\"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/LESSONS-IN-FEDERALISM.jpg\" "\\"|")
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