The people of Ethiopia have suffered for far too long due to abuse of power, civil war, and natural disasters. If conditions do not improve soon and Ethiopia plunges into another round of civil war, the consequences for Ethiopia and the entire region could be devastating and perhaps irreversible. The government of Ethiopia organized and conducted perhaps the most open and competitive elections ever in May 2005. The previous elections, especially the 1995 and 2000 elections were largely boycotted and judged to be neither free nor fair. The fact that opposition parties openly participated in a hotly contested election campaign and over 90 percent of the registered voters went to the polls on Election Day demonstrated that active and peaceful engagement in the political process can bring change for the better.