C) Multiparty democracy 

A party is a formal political organisation of people who have a shared political views and preferences with the purpose of seeking to have office in the government through popular election or other means and thereby exercising political power. It has a well-defined political programme and policies on various issues how to rule the government and serve the society.  Therefore, one of the key differences between democratic and totalitarian states is the issue of parties in the political system. The existence and matured competitive participation of parties in the political life of the country is a vital feature of a democratic system.  A democratic leadership is always in favour of multiparty system.

In the present political situation of our country the issue of multiparty system is still in a crossroad. We have learned that the PFDJ leadership has shown no firm stand and courage on the introduction of multiparty democracy in the political system of the country. The PFDJ�s elite group, theoretically, looks very keen to political pluralism, but practically, is against it.  This can be justified based on the objective reality, i.e., from what the PFDJ�s elite group has promised to the people of Eritrea and what is actually happening on the ground.

In general the PFDJ�s elite group visions and plans regarding multiparty democracy are overwhelmed by totalitarian way of thinking. Ultimately, in February 2002, in its 14^th session, we have learned that the National Assembly has unanimously decided to post-pond the issue of formation of political parties for unknown time. What a shameful and disappointing resolution!!!! Why the National Assembly over-ruled its own resolution (particularly, which was approved in its 13^th session)? This occasion was taken by the PFDJ�s leadership to legitimatize its plan, i.e., banning or pending the introduction of multiparty democracy into the political system of the country for unknown time. 

In general, the PFDJ�s leadership was observed in undermining the relevance of multiparty system in the democratisation process. According to its ideological views, which is entirely socialist oriented, the elite group urge that multiparty democracy can not be guaranteed without maintaining social justice and equality within the society. The idea is very good, but is it practical? How long it will take to maintain a balanced momentum between political equality and social justice within the society successfully? Why the PFDJ�s leadership could able to learn from the experience of other countries?      

In addition, in the last few years, the leadership has launched propaganda against the introduction of multiparty democracy within the community using various methods � through its media, organising seminars and meetings and through its potential, but informal media (they call it �03�). The intention of the propaganda was to develop a narrow perception about the issue of formation of political parties in the public and thereby to alienate the opposition groups (those having difference political opinions and views from PFDJ) and to secure public support and confidence on the leadership. They usually try to present the issue as against the will and benefit of the public, and a question of a handful bankrupted politicians who have the ambition of power and those who have done nothing in the armed struggle for national independence. 

Basically, the issue of multiparty system is a question of democracy. Therefore, it is the question of the general public. This question was not only raised by the opposition groups which are outside of the PFDJ circle, but also by its senior cadres, central committee members and also its prominent supporters. I think, the leadership is fully aware of what is going on by Eritrean communities residing in various parts of the World. All of them are desperately calling for the PFDJ�s government to respect human rights of its citizens and to establish a constitutional and democratic government urgently. Unfortunately, those citizens, who are living inside the country, could not able to enjoy their rights to freedom of expression openly, because they are under terror, intimidation and repression of the PFDJ�s leadership. However, their emotions and feelings are still like �ice-burg�. Here the most disappointing and frustrating thing is the deliberate abstraction of the PFDJ�s leadership towards the introduction and establishment of democratic institutions and culture within the society.

 Regardless from which direction the question is coming, the fundamental question which needs mutual understanding among all Eritreans is � Is it right to raise the issue of multiparty democracy? Why is the issue of multiparty democracy became very crucial in the politics our country? According to my personal opinion, the reasons can be summarised into three points.

a) As ultimate goal of the struggle for national independence: The ultimate goal of the struggle of the people of Eritrea for national independence was to establish a free and multiparty democratic state, not a country to be ruled by unconstitutional and totalitarian one-party system. Always we have to remember promises of our martyrs.

b) As pre-condition to establish a democratic system: Referring to the history and experience of various countries, it is unthinkable to establish a democratic system without permitting multiparty democracy. In a healthy and stable democratic system, political parties play a significant role in the development of the country. They usually come up with various alternatives of policies, plans, programmes and approaches that they want to implement in the government. At the end, the people will have the decisive power to choice which party is more suitable for the leadership.  

c) As a fundamental human right: In a democratic system, every Eritrean citizen has the right to participate or organise any party or association under law of the country, but cannot be compelled to join one party or association. This is due to the fact that individuals and groups in a community have a wide variety of demands, which they place upon the political system. The demands may be the results of values, beliefs and ideologies, which prevail in any society. Hence, allowing multiparty democracy means respecting and protecting fundamental human right of citizens. On the other hand, it guarantees the rights of individuals to choice the party, which they believe appropriate for the leadership.   

Having these points in mind, what is the relevance of introducing multiparty democracy in the political system of the country? Who benefits from it? In general, the introduction of multiparty democracy in the political system has several advantages and some of them are briefly presented as follows.

a) Of course, the obvious goal of a political party is seeking and exercising political power in the government. Any democratic political system requires wide support among the people whom it governs. Any party has to promote its own policies and programmes so as to maintain public support. It is therefore a basic principle of democratic politics, that the parties, which inevitably flourish in pluralist systems, should sustain broad public support of the system. A matured and healthy competition among political parties is very essential for the development of the nation and benefit of the public. On the other hand, this situation is very crucial for the development of individual parties, i.e., it will help them to modernize or reform their policies, programmes so as to meet demands of the public and cope with the international politics.

 b) In a democratic system permitting formation of political parties has a significant input in stabilising the political system of the country. Political stability is one of the key factors for the development of any nation. In order to maintain political stability, it is essential to have a comprehensive, appropriate and applicable law and code of practice, which can be used for regulating and monitoring activities of political parties. Furthermore, the political parties must be involved in the preparation and approval of the law and code of practice so as to be implemented effectively.

 c) In a democratic system strong and well-organised political parties are training institutions of future leaders of the country. The skills of leadership, persuasion, organisation of support, public speaking, committee work and public campaigning are all required if ambitious individuals are rise through party ranks.

 d) In democratic system strong and influential opposition parties have great contributions in monitoring and checking the government in power. Although the governing party has a dominant role, all parties will have the opportunity involve in preparation of laws, policies and scrutinising functions, actions and performances of the National Assembly, various institutions of the government. Overall, in the presence of strong opposition parties, public concerns and interests will be addressed properly, because the public evaluates each party according to its performance and stands, which is paramount for the survival of the party in the next election.  

 e) In a democratic electoral system political parties are the main sources of candidates at local, regional and/or national levels. Furthermore, they recruit individuals to important positions in the public services and a variety of committees at various levels of assemblies. Most of the time local, regional and national assemblies constantly need informed, experienced and committed members to work in various committees. It is the parties that provide the right people for the right type of job or committee. Therefore, they act as filter to ensure that the more competent and experienced people to be available for the desired position and expertise. 

 Moreover, parties assist electoral committees or board at various levels in disseminating information, campaigning, administrating and controlling the election process. A healthy democratic election system depends on good voting turnouts to ensure continuous support and confidence among the people. On the administrative side, party representatives play vital roles in ensuring that elections are conducted honestly and fairly.

 f) In democratic states parties are vital links between the government and the public. Without the collective activities of the parties, the public would be deprived of a large amount of information concerning great issues � such as economy issues, the country�s role in foreign affairs, education and health issues, government�s expenditure, social issues of the public, etc.

 The other question which needs more attention is - why is the introduction of multiparty democracy banned or remained pending for unknown time? The most surprising thing is that theoretically, the PFDJ elite group and its supporters agree with the relevance of the multiparty democracy in the political system of the country. However, in its practical implementation, the elite group strongly disagrees when and how it should be introduced in the political system of the country.   The group frequently argues that today is not the right time to raise the issue in its pre-matured stage. The causes of arguments are briefly summarised as follows.

 a) Sub-national sentiment: The first point of argument is that religion, ethnicity and sentiment of regionalism are very sensitive within the society. Thus, in such situation introduction of multiparty democracy can be considered as a recipe for creating sub-national sectarianism. This will have a damaging effect on the unity of the society and national integrity and sovereignty.

Is this a new phenomenon? Why the PFDJ�s elite group did not raise this issue at 2^nd and 4^th congresses of the front? If so, what is its main cause? What is the effective strategy to over come this problem in the future?

 I think, this issue was and will continue in the future, because we live within the society. Therefore, the best solution for this problem is to formulate a comprehensive, realistic and applicable law that governs political parties through wider consultation and discussion of the society and all political organisations.

 Secondly, the magnitude of the problem mainly depends on quality (maturity, determination, experience) of our politicians. Politicians must put national unity and security, public interest, concern and safety at the top of their priorities, i.e., before their individual interest and ambition of power. The society usually is a reflection of its leaders. Therefore, quality of the leadership has a decisive role in maintaining the right system, in the right way and at the right time. Other wise, religion, ethnicity, regional and other sub-national sentiments are signs of ignorance and backwardness.

 Thirdly, the society must be encouraged and got the opportunity to develop fundamental democratic cultures (such as tolerance, respect opinion of others, open-mindedness, rationale and reasonable decision making, etc.). These democratic cultures can only be developed through process and practice.

 b) Unsettled boarder-conflict: The second point of argument is that the boarder-dispute with Ethiopia has not yet been settled. So permitting multiparty democracy can weaken the sprit of nationalism and patriotism of the society. Furthermore, this situation can easily be exploited by enemy which is very dangerous to public safety, national unity, security and sovereignty.

 Even though we could not enable to find the exact cause of the boarder-war, due to the military adventure of the PFDJ�s leadership, the people of Eritrea has become a victim of the war. For our leaders, it was very easy to declare war and invest a large portion of national resource for war, effective mobilization of the community for war, etc., but now how it becomes more difficult for them to declare democracy, justice and peace for the people of Eritrea. Why are they refraining from introducing multiparty democracy and establishing fundamental democratic institutions? Still we are quite sure whether the leadership has finished its war- agenda with Ethiopia, Sudan or other country. However, we are quite sure that they are not ready to introduce and establish a multiparty democratic system in the country. 

The leadership should note that introduction of multiparty democracy plays a significant role in establishing a strong democratic government which is transparent and accountable for the public or its representatives. 

 c) Emergency recovery and rehabilitation programme: The third point of their argument is that at present the top priorities of the people and government of Eritrea are focused on recovering the shattered economy and rehabilitating the war-displaced communities, especially those living around the boarder areas. Furthermore, parents of our martyrs have not yet been informed officially. Hence in comparing to all these issue, the formation of political parties has no urgency and can be delayed for the time being.

Very recently, the PFDJ�s government has launched its ambitious and controversial �WASAY YIKEALO PROJECT�. In the last two months, the elite group has started campaigning about the project in side and outside the country. The overall goals and aims of the Project are wonderful. However, as usual, the main target of the campaign is to divert attention of the public from the current political fiasco and buy time to maintain public confidence and support towards the leadership.

 The PFDJ�s leadership could not able to learn of its recent experience, how its economy was collapsed within a short period of time. It is hard to ensure economic development and improve of quality of life without creating a conducive situation for peace, justice, solidarity and political stability within the country. This mainly depends on the establishment of a constitutional and democratic system. Therefore, allowing formation political parties means giving collective responsibility to all parties to be involved in the process of nation building and encouraging the people with various political opinions to work to gather for one goal. Moreover, peace, political stability and democratic nature of the government are key factors for attracting potential foreign investors.  

According to our observations and current tendency of the PFDJ�s leadership, even a multiparty system is permitted; I am very suspicious about its implementation and achievement of the desired quality of political system in the country. This mainly relies on the attitude and approach of the PFDJ�s leadership. In my personal view, the reasons can be summarised into three points.

a) Rejection of opposition of groups: The PFDJ�s leadership has officially rejected the existence of opposition groups, which are currently operating in and outside the country. This does not mean that the elite group completely ignorant about the opposition elements and what they are doing in various parts of the world, but they do not want to recognise them as opposition groups. Because that is a typical character of politicians. Nevertheless, this is the real reflection of the attitude of the PFDJ, which will be considered as a major hindrance in introducing multiparty democracy in our country. The leadership is a hard-liner in the issue of power sharing with others who were outside its domain. The implicit intent of the PFDJ�s elite group can simply be coined as �All Eritrean for Eritrea, but Eritrea is only for us (PFDJ)�. This is what practically happening in our country. In reality, for example in the drafted law of formation of parties, the leadership has already set certain articles that restrict the opposition groups from participating in the political system of the country.

Basically, it is unlawful to refuse any Eritrean or group of Eritrean from participating in the political system of the country, unless and otherwise ordered by the justice system. Referring to the experience of many countries, one of the major causes of political unstability is refusal or neglecting opposition groups from participating in the political system of the country by the leadership in power. As a consequence, the opposition groups will be obliged to fight for their rights through armed struggle or other means of violence. The obvious goal is to overthrow the leadership by power which is the common phenomenon in many African countries and cause of civil war. Usually, those political parties, which are in power, attempt to crush the uprising of dissents by military force or terror, but it is not the right solution of the problem. At the very beginning the seriousness of the conflict can be underestimated, but in long run it has a damaging effect on the public safety, economy and security of the country. In general, the conflict between the ruling party and opposition groups has a sever effect on the political system of the country. This is the major concern of the peace-loving people of Eritrea.

b) Dominance of PFDJ: Since 1991 the PFDJ has got the opportunity to monopolise everything, such as,

i) Political system: The PFDJ is the sole political party and has unlimited political power in the country.  In order to ensure its superiority in the political system, the PFDJ has conducted a mass-recruitment campaign by organizing a very wide network and organizational structure within and outside the country.

ii) Economy: The PFDJ has monopolised economy of the country by establishing several monstrous financial institutions, companies and agencies in key sectors of the economy.

iii) Mass organisations: National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students, National Union of Eritrean Women and Confederation of Eritrean workers are under the PFDJ. The Presidents of these mass organisations are members of the executive committee of the PFDJ. Thus, these organisations are main apparatus of the leadership.

iv) Cultural and Socialisation process: The PFDJ has two offices that work fulltime in running cultural and socialisation activities within the society. They are �bahlawi gudayat hgdef (Cultural Affairs of PFDJ) and �Awehahidi Shimagle Be�alat (Committee organising Festivals). The explicitly missions of these offices are mobilization of the society; revitalization of traditional cultures and promoting literature, etc. However, the implicitly missions of are focused on promoting PFDJ�s policies and plans, glorifies values, attitudes and beliefs of PFDJ, generating financial income and overall controlling all social and cultural activities organized by Eritrean Communities in and outside the country.

     On the contrary, the PFDJ leadership has neither recognized the presence of the opposition groups nor proclaimed the law governing political parties. Therefore, in such circumstance, it is very hard to expect a balanced and competitive multiparty democracy in the country. This will not bring that much difference in the political system merely by permitting minor parties to form. This means, counting number of parties no longer is sufficient to identify the nature of leadership.

c) Establishment of democratic institutions: In the last nine years, the PFDJ�s leadership has failed to establish any single democratic institution in the country. Rather, the leadership was observed in taking aggressive and unlawful actions in repressing dissents and violating basic human rights. One of the outrageous behaviours of the PFDJ�s leadership � never sets a timetable (time frame) or never abides by its promise. Therefore, no one can be certain when the National Assembly will raise the issue of formation of political parities. This has put everything in dilemma .

Referring to the experience of various countries, especially those governments came to power through armed struggle for national independence, due to various reasons it is very challenging from them to transform from one-party system into a multiparty system. However, if the leadership is very determined and courageous to do so, it is not a big deal. All the argument of the PFDJ's leadership can be true only when there is no law that regulates all political parties and no code-of-practice that governs all political parties and politicians how to work within the political system of the country. Other wise, such arguments are baseless and are usually utilised to deceit the public. This is entirely focused to extend life of their power.  

In general, such excuses are common problems in those countries, which are ruled by one-party system. The main reason is that the leadership will find it difficult to �manage� an organisation, which is outside the established political system. A totalitarian leadership usually has the ambition to bring everything under its control. Activities and actions of political parties, which are outside the ruling party, are unpredictable and unpredictability is seen as threat to its power. Furthermore, the leadership of the ruling party will not tolerate any critic and ideas that opposes its visions and programmes.

On the other hand, like in most of the third world countries which are ruled by one party system, the PFDJ, in addition to acting as a political recruitment, socialisation and resource distribution agency, usually performs two main functions: promotion of nationalism and maintenance of stable economic and social order. Like all politicians agree, the PFDJ political ideology is founded in �national socialism� and support of nationalism invariably receives a high priority in its plans. As a result, multiparty democracy will be given less attention by the leadership.

Recalling the experience of EPLF, as the leadership confessed in its 3^rd congress, during the armed struggle there was a secret party with in the front. What about now? We don�t know, even today a new and more complex secret party may be operating inside the womb of the front (PFDJ). On the other hand, the elite group may have a plan to reform the PFDJ so as to be compatible with its new vision and plan.  Or the elite group leadership may be designing mechanisms how to clone puppet minority parties, which are fraction of the giant PFDJ ,i.e., by excluding other opposition groups.

To sum up, the introduction of multiparty democracy is the urgent question of the people of Eritrea and the international community. The existence and active participation of parties in the political life of the country is the key indicator of a democratic system. This situation promotes the establishment a healthy and stable democratic political system in the country. Hence, the PFDJ�s leadership must think again about its policies and plans on why, how and when to introduce multiparty democracy in the political system of our country. The leadership is expected to take practical measures very soon to create a new hope and bright future for our country and new generations. Notice that political stability is a basic precondition for peace, equality, justice, solidarity and economic development. Always it is very essentials to take into account that Eritrea is equal to all Eritrean regardless of their religion, ethnicity, region and political opinion.

Banning or delaying of establishment of multiparty democracy cannot solve all the existing worries and night-mares of the PFDJ�s leadership. In fact, it clearly exposes the actual totalitarian behaviour of the leadership and putting the political system country into danger. Terror and intimidation can only give temporary relief to dictators, but never solve the problems. These are instruments of dictators which are very often used to repress dissents to secure their power. However, it is an outcome of poor quality of leadership, lack of confidence and obsession of power.

For successful implementation of the multiparty democracy, the PFDJ�s leadership must show political willingness, courage, determination and dedication, which are signs of maturity of the leadership. Some of the possible actions that should be considered by the leadership are:

- Readiness for reconciliation with all opposition groups

- Readiness to solve political differences through constructive dialogues and discussions rather than through terror, violence and force

- Readiness to work with opposition groups as partners in introducing multiparty system and other democratic institutions.

- Readiness to respect and protect fundamental human rights of dissents

- Readiness to establish effective mechanism of monitoring and controlling activities and actions of political parties, etc.

As far as possible, the leadership must show flexibility in its policies and guidelines, tolerance and respect opinion of others and very strict in implementing laws and regulations. These are characteristics of matured, rational and responsible leadership. Other wise, the PFDJ�s leadership is repeating the shameful history of the well-known totalitarian dictators of our world. Today, from different parts of the world the voice of the people of Eritrea is echoing � NO WAR, NO TERROR - PEACE, JUSTICE, EQUALITY, SOLIDARITY and PROSPERITY.

To be continued