Analysing Ethiopia’s Adherence with the Guidelines on Access to Information and Elections in Africa: A Spotlight on the 2021 National Election 

Author: Yeabsira Teferi
Lecturer of law, School of Law, Dilla University, Ethiopia

Introduction

A fundamental element of democracy is the freedom to choose political leaders through elections. As envisaged under Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (the African Charter), for elections to be free, fair and credible, the electorate must have access to information at all stages of the electoral process.  

The Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, a special mechanism established by the African Commission, with the specific mandate of monitoring member states’ compliance with article 9 of the African Charter adopted the Guidelines on Access to Information and Elections in Africa (hereinafter, the Guidelines), in 2017.[i] The Guidelines provide directions on access to information in the electoral process as a means of strengthening democratic governance in Africa and specifically incorporates the principle of proactive disclosure of information. The principle of proactive disclosure requires that those who hold information of public interest must routinely provide such information to the public even without being requested to do so.

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