Ethiopians trust their traditional leaders more than state institutions and elected officials, and would like to see their influence increase, Afrobarometer survey findings shows.
However, most citizens want their traditional leaders to stay out of politics.
Second only to religious leaders, traditional leaders enjoy greater popular trust than the prime minister and legislators, security forces, courts of law, and political parties. Citizens say traditional leaders do a better job of listening to their constituents than do members of the House of Peoples’ Representatives and of local government councils.
Traditional leaders are most widely seen as influential in solving local disputes and governing their communities, and most citizens say their influence should increase in the future.
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