The country is not currently in a position to hold free, fair and credible elections.
![Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed attends his last campaign event ahead of Ethiopia's parliamentary and regional elections scheduled for June 21, in Jimma, Ethiopia, June 16, 2021 [Tiksa Negeri/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2021-06-16T131547Z_553064788_RC2O1O96YLZT_RTRMADP_3_ETHIOPIA-ELECTION-ABIY.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
The country is not currently in a position to hold free, fair and credible elections.
![Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed attends his last campaign event ahead of Ethiopia's parliamentary and regional elections scheduled for June 21, in Jimma, Ethiopia, June 16, 2021 [Tiksa Negeri/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2021-06-16T131547Z_553064788_RC2O1O96YLZT_RTRMADP_3_ETHIOPIA-ELECTION-ABIY.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
And in order to start one, it needs to face its imperial past and legacy.
![People gather to mourn the victims of a massacre allegedly perpetrated by Eritrean soldiers in the village of Dengolat in the Tigray region of Ethiopia on February 26, 2021 [File: AFP/Eduardo Soteras]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/000_93Y6F3.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Tigray is the last frontier in a battle over the character of the Ethiopian state.
![A member of the Amhara Special Forces watches on at the border crossing with Eritrea while where an Imperial Ethiopian flag waves, in Humera, Ethiopia, on November 22, 2020. [Eduardo Soteras/AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/000_8VP6MA.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Haacaaluu inspired a whole generation of Oromos to fight for their rights. His tragic death is an incalculable loss.

The new pan-Ethiopian party created to replace the EPRDF coalition risks bringing the country to the edge of an abyss.

The prize not only acknowledges the Ethiopian prime minister’s commitment to peace, but encourages him to do more.

The Victory of Adwa has been a very divisive issue in Ethiopia for decades. It’s time to change that.

Ethiopia needs both accountability and reconciliation to come to terms with its violent and divisive past.

Ethiopia’s gender balanced cabinet is sending women around the country a clear message: the patriarchy can be beaten.

But the complete removal of accountability and justice from the agenda is not the answer.
