Majority of Ethiopians show overwhelming support for a government that upholds rule of law, even when doing so goes against popular demand, according to a recent Afrobarometer survey.

Findings from the survey indicate that an overwhelming majority of Ethiopians (86%) are of the government actions must always follow the law; only 14 percent think that popular support should allow the government to do “whatever the people want” without recourse to what the law prescribes.

Furthermore, more than two-thirds (68 percent) of citizens say that the prime minister must always obey the laws and courts, while 3 out of 10 (31 percent) consider that the prime minister should not be bound by laws or decisions of the court, even where he or she thinks they are wrong.

Accordingly, more than half (53 percent) of Ethiopians are of the view that officials who commit crimes are more likely to go unpunished and that people are often treated unequally under the law. By contrast, only 3 in 10 (29 percent) indicate that the same is true for ordinary citizens.

The perception that officials who break the law often go unpunished is more common among citizens with post-secondary education (65 percent) and urban residents (62 percent) than among those with less education (51 percent-53 percent) and rural dwellers (51 percent).

Also, the findings revealed that almost half (45 percent) of Ethiopians say people are often or always treated unequally under the law, though about (53 percent) believe this rarely or never happens.

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, nonpartisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. Seven rounds of surveys were completed in up to 38 countries between 1999 and 2018.

Round 8 surveys in 2019/2020 are planned in at least 35 countries. Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples.

The findings from the survey was drawn from 2,400 adult citizens conducted in December 2019 to January 2020 by ABCON Research & Consulting with financial support from Freedom House.

According to the release, a sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

A previous survey was conducted in Ethiopia in 2013, where Ethiopians’ democracy was assessed. The findings of the survey were very much surprising, with 4 in 10 respondents (42 percent) answered that the perceived extent of democracy in Ethiopia was a fully-fledged democracy.

39 percent responded that they practice democracy but it was beset with minor issues. Only about 6 percent of respondents answered that the practiced a democracy with major problems.

An explanation given for why Ethiopians think their country is a democracy is because of their very positive assessment of political and economic developments.

Of respondents who offered an opinion, the overwhelming balance said that the most recent election was free and fair, that the executive respects the Constitution and Legislature, and that very few officials are corrupt.