My take

 

In the above picture is the only outspoken opposition MP whose motion is supported by no other candidate but himself. By all votes, his motions were flanked by the majority of the MPs. My reason for stressing on this aspect of the parliamentary theatre is not to put blame or criticize the obviously strange look of the procession on one party. It is my understanding that whatever I observe in the current development of the Ethiopian economy, politics, infrastructure, and cultural activities, however one chooses to look at it, there are undeniable progresses being made. It is hard to tell the leadership is not trying to contribute to the country's welfare in its capacity. There can be problems here and there, some potentially unavoidable, others man made. Unless the country is being secretly run by a North Korea style totalitarian regime, I don't believe it is possible to have such a majority of support in the parliament without the regime doing something good for the people. But seeing Mr. Girma, the poor opposition MP who happens to be the only member to vote for his motion, it makes me think either the opposition is paying for its previous miscalculations, or the leading party has given developmental state priorities extremely high importance to the extent of blatantly avoiding gambling on building a more sustainable system, a vibrant democracy based on diverse views, mainly due to waste of the desperately needed time, or the unexpected security risks that inherently come with it. It is my sincere hope the next election will not produce a parliament that looks this odd. Something I don’t deny is that the orderly and organized meeting looks extremely different from most parliaments I know of. The questions posed by the MPs are reasonably critical and cover diverse areas, other than questioning the politically charged and sensitive questions of the life span of the EPRDF as a government, which in my opinion shows a striking difference from the times of Meles.