Written by Solomon
When considering the sort of political party that may suit the taste of the “Condo Generation,” the question of what its campaign manifesto would look like arises.
How about campaign promises such as these, “Vote for us as we will open 10 new FM radio stations all dedicated to hip-hop. All the English Premier League matches will be televised free on all of the nine new television channels that we will allow. It will be a national holiday whenever the top four clubs in the English Premier League play against each other. Subsidised Apple iPods will be offered to all citizens. We are the party of the new generation that will bring hope, prosperity, and leisure to this land. Vote for us!”
It might be awkward to read such a manifesto from a political party that intends to lead a nation as complex and diverse as this one. But, the fact remains that all of the prevailing parties running for the upcoming national elections have failed to attract the attention of the urban youth. This is vividly evident in the principal city of the nation, Addis Abeba.
For anyone who has followed the recent us presidential election, where Barack Obama won by a landslide, it would be unarguably obvious that the fate of a nation depends on its youth.
This nation’s own history could also backup this argument, whereby the disenchantment of university students has resulted in a political turmoil and systemic changes in the country. What was evident in the 2005 National Elections was also similar.
The touch seems to be lost in the upcoming national elections.
What has made the youth so reluctant to define its future, though? What have the contending political parties failed to do to get the youth back on the political track?
Though attempting to answer these questions would involve risky generalisation, it may be essential to determine the future of our toddling democracy. Many political pundits, who closely follow Ethiopian politics, claim that the aftermath of the 2005 National Elections is to be blamed for the growing frustration of the Ethiopian youth towards national politics. That being one of the reasons, though, it could not be the only one, as many other changes have taken place after that. >>>
