Election committee scrapped in lead up to vote
Members of the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations say their electoral procedures have come under undue pressure from the City Administration.
The Chamber has been preparing to conduct a vote to fill its most senior management positions, including those of President, deputy presidents, Secretary-General, and other directorial posts, next month.
In line with its bylaws, a credential committee had been appointed to review the qualifications of potential candidates for the ballot. However, a notice issued by current Chamber president Mesenbet Shenkute this week has scrapped the committee.
“The election committee has been working on the upcoming election. However, in view of the Chamber’s ongoing reforms and following discussions between the Board of Directors and the Addis Ababa Trade Bureau, we have decided to introduce changes to the election procedure. Therefore, we declare the established election committee [credential committee] revoked,” reads the notice.
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Chamber members and other senior managers told The Reporter the decision goes against the organization’s bylaws, expressing fears the City Administration is meddling in their affairs in a bid to secure government interests.
“The management cozied up with the government to revoke the Chamber’s established regulations. This is to allow the government to push its own people into the election process and take over the incoming management,” one member told The Reporter, speaking anonymously.
The Chamber member claims to hold concrete evidence that the organization’s current management has entered into an arrangement with the City Administration in a bid to rig the election in favor of district officials.
“This is to make the Chamber submissive to the government’s will,” said the member.
Meanwhile, the deadline for the election has been brought forward by six days to January 2, 2024, when the Chamber’s general assembly is also slated to take place and the current management’s terms are due to run out. The organization’s bylaws dictate an assembly must take place within the first six months of any given fiscal year.
Article 16 of the Chamber’s governing regulations explicitly states that elections can only be conducted through the facilitation of a credential committee, which is tasked with cross-checking the background and capacity of all potential candidates.
The regulation also states that only members who discharge all duties, like contributing membership fees, can participate in the election process.
Nonetheless, Mesenbet has a completely different rationale for the new rules.
“The Chamber has been under reform. We conducted an internal assessment based on audit findings. We made big structural changes. We started by cleaning house, and currently we are through the ‘selection and placement’ process. Reform starts from a clean sheet. The second part of the reform is amending regulations and directives of the Chamber. This reform aims at bringing huge radical change,” she told The Reporter.
Mesenbet claims there is pressure from the City Trade Bureau to conduct an election before the deadline.
“In the meantime, new requests and demands have been presented to us, calling for the Chamber election process to be inclusive. They accused the existing structure of being exclusionary,” said Mesenbet.
She said a “screening process” found that only 4,000 of the Chamber’s 17,000 members pay their membership dues. The figure is only a fraction of the more than 481,000 businesses in Addis Ababa, Mesenbet argues.
She told The Reporter there are pressing demands for the Chamber to accommodate non-members in its upcoming election, however, members point out that would go against regulations.
“Many criticize the Chamber for not representing all the businesses in the city. Non–members criticize us for excluding them even though they hold legal business licenses. How can the Chamber be inclusive with so few members?” asked Mesenbet.
She indicated a large number of businesses have lobbied to gain membership.
“So, the election cannot go on in the traditional way, with only the current members. We’ve decided to make non-members part of the election. They must participate by gaining membership immediately. We changed the procedure,” said Mesenbet.
The President claims the changes are all part of a fundamental reform process at the organization. Other tweaks include reducing the number of deputy presidents to two from three, and a general reduction in the number of offices.
“The only thing left now is changing the Chamber’s laws and regulations, in order to onboard the city’s non-member businesses in the upcoming election. They must also participate,” said Mesenbet.
The regulatory changes would do away with the credential committee entirely, leaving elections to be conducted in their entirety during the general assembly, according to the President.
She argues that a desire to build the Chamber’s capacity, and not influence, is behind the sudden changes.
“We are convinced that if the 481,000 businesses in the city become members of the Chamber, it will be add to its voice and capacity. We have to respect their interests, too,” said Mesenbet,
She claims these interests were communicated to the Chamber’s management in the form of questionnaires disseminated to businesses.
Mesenbet also argues the changes do not contradict the Chamber’s regulations, because the regulations are slated to change on the day of the general assembly.
“Provisions requiring the credential committee will be revoked and amended. Non-members will also be inducted immediately. Then, the election will be elected on the day of the general assembly and businesses who were not members will participate without the need for a committeee,” she said.
Mesenbet told The Reporter the amendments to the regulation are already being finalized by the Chamber’s legal team and are slated for ratification during the assembly.
“More and more businesses are applying for membership. They will also apply on the day of the assembly. I only see the addition of new members as a potential for the Chamber. Laws and procedures are nothing unless they incorporate the interest of the many. There is no reason why we cannot change the existing laws and procedures, and onboard the non-members,” she said.
Mesenbet also told The Reporter the changes would accommodate the formation of a new credential committee, which would feature new Chamber members, on the day of the assembly.
However, it is not clear how the new committee will be able to vet candidates in the span of a single day.
“We’ve been criticized for making election process secretive, only conducted through the credential committee, and exclusive. We were blamed for enabling an environment where the same people were elected to management. This will change with this reform. Having the election process directly on stage, instead of through a committee, will be very beneficial,” Mesenbet said.
The President also refutes the existence of any influence from the City Administration in the Chamber’s affairs.
“Some people are claiming that the existing credential committee was aborted following an intervention of the city Trade Bureau. This is false. We reached this decision following the reform we have conducted. Why should we not incorporate the 481,000 non-member businesses of the city into the election process? The only barrier is the legislation and procedure. So we amended it,” said Mesenbet.
She claims to have received complaints about alleged favoritism in the committee.
Mesenbet hopes to see the changes create a stronger Chamber
“Non-member businesses have been forced to deal directly with the government to solve their problems. This is because the Chamber is weak. If all these businesses are allowed to join, the Chamber will grow strong,” she said.
The Chamber’s management is slated to give a briefing detailing the scope of the reforms in the coming week.
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