The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) said Tuesday it has decreed that no political party or independent candidates shall campaign at market places as market places are business areas.
At its regular meeting, the board said it has passed the decision as it found election campaigns at market places detrimental to public peace and stability, adding that election campaigns should be conducted 200 meters away from market places.
The board said it was forced to restrict election campaigns at market places in all regional states based on incidents observed recently as well as on previous experiences.
The government will execute the board’s decision to discharge its responsibility of maintaining the peace and stability of the public, the board said.
More than 25 million of Ethiopia’s 71 million people have registered to vote. Some 35 political parties will vie for seats in the 547-seat Council of People’s Representatives.
Voters will also elect representatives in nine regional state parliaments that appoint members of the 108-seat Council of the Federation, the upper house.
The election, the third since the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) came to power in 1991, will be the first in Ethiopia to be held under international scrutiny although there have been complaints that local observers have been unfairly denied access.
All the elections have been convincingly won by the ruling EPRDF. The ruling party and affiliated parties hold 519 of 548 seats in the federal parliament.
ATLANTA – The Carter Center, invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and welcomed by the National Election Board, will observe Ethiopia’s national elections May 15th. The 50-member delegation will be led by: former U.S. President Jimmy Carter; his wife, Rosalynn; former Botswana President Sir Ketumile Joni Masire; former Tanzania Prime Minister Judge Joseph Warioba; and Carter Center Executive Director John Hardman.
The Center’s election observation mission follows an assessment trip in January during in which the Center met with government representatives from the parliament and foreign ministry, opposition party leaders, and representatives of civil society organizations. The mission opened an office in Addis Ababa March 19.
“This election is an important step in the consolidation of democracy since the 1991 transition,” said Rachel Fowler, senior program associate of the Center’s Democracy Program. “The Carter Center is encouraged by the broad participation in the process, and its observation would support a more open, transparent process.”
A small team of medium-term observers deployed in early April to areas outside of Addis Ababa to observe the political environment, election preparations, and the political party campaigns. The remainder of the delegation, representing 17 countries, arrives May 10 and will receive briefings in Addis Ababa before deployment throughout Ethiopia. The delegation’s leadership, Fowler, and Ethiopia Field Office Director Samantha Aucock hope to meet with candidates, the election commission, domestic observers, and other international observers in the days before the election. On May 15, Center observers will witness poll openings, voting, and a poll closing, including counting and tracking of the tabulation of results.
CONTACT:
Kay Torrance
In Atlanta, 404-420-5129
In Addis Ababa, Samantha Aucock
+251-09 47 20 65
The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, the Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 65 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers to increase crop production. Please visit www.cartercenter.org to learn more about The Carter Center.
ADDIS ABABA: The European Union yesterday expressed concern over reports of “harassment” in the Horn of Africa nation, ahead of general elections scheduled for next month, officials said.
“Reports of harassment, imprisonment, and other activities of intimidation are worrysome,” said Rob Vermas, the Dutch ambassador, representing the EU in Ethiopia, while welcoming about 50 EU observers who arrived on Friday.
EU officials said the decision by the Ethiopian government on March 30 to expel three US democracy groups, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) was disappointing.
“The recent issuance of a directive on local observers is disappointing,” Vermas explained.
“The NEBE’s (state-run National Election Board of Ethiopia) directives will virtually exclude many local NGOs (non-governmental organisations) from observing the election,” Vermas explained.
The election will be the third since the governing EPRDF’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi came to power in 1991. It will, however, be the first in Ethiopia to be held under international scrutiny amid complaints that local observers have been unfairly denied access.
About 100 more EU election observers are expected to arrive on May 10.
Vermas spoke a day after Ethiopia’s Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) claimed that nine of its members had been arrested since March 26 in acts that amounted to harassment in Hadiya Zone, about 360km south of the capital Addis Ababa. – AFP
Two political parties contesting in Ethiopia’s May 15 national elections have been making effective use of mobile phone short message service to campaign.
The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) have been campaigning via mobile short message service (SMS), calling people to vote for them.
Some residents in Addis Ababa said that the short messages request receivers to forward it to up to 10 other mobile users.
The ERPDF message reads, “Hi! I am confident enough that you love Ethiopia. No doubt, the future is too bright. Vote for EPRDF. Please send this message for 10 supporters of the party.”
On the other hand, CUD’s campaign message reads, “The moment of truth has come, vote for Kinijit (Coalition). Freedom is on the way. Ride with Kinijit.”
Another CUD message also reads, “Vote Kinijit. I know you love Ethiopia. Pass this message for at least five Ethiopians who love their country.”
Some residents of the capital appreciated the use of modern technology for the purpose of election campaigning.
Over 25.6 million Ethiopians are eligible to cast ballots in the upcoming elections to elect a national parliament and eight regional assemblies. The newly elected federal lawmakers will then select a prime minister.
There are 1,845 candidates representing 36 political parties and independents running for the 480 seats up for grabs in the 547- member federal parliament.
The remaining 67 MPs, who represent Ethiopia’s eastern Somalia Regional State, will be chosen in elections in August.
The national elections will be only the third democratic ballot in Ethiopia. The previous elections have been won by the ruling party.
Ethiopia has a two-house parliament: the 110-seat upper House of the Federation and the 547-seat lower House of People’s Representatives.
Ethiopia says it had every right to expel three U.S.-funded democracy groups from the country late last month, because the groups were not in compliance with the law. The response comes as two of the groups, in a letter to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, questioned the credibility and transparency of next month’s parliamentary elections.
A spokesman for the Ethiopian Information Ministry, Zemedkun Tekle, says as far as the government is concerned, it acted within the law when it expelled the three American organizations on March 30.
“The reason of their expulsion is that they had not registered legally to monitor these elections,” he says.
The three groups, National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, had been in Ethiopia since January to assist in preparing for May 15 elections.
The groups are funded by the United States to promote democracy and good governance around the world.
All three groups have acknowledged that they were not registered with the Ethiopian government at the time of the expulsions. But they say that the government failed to respond to requests for the necessary accreditations, even though they applied for them back in January.
The Bush administration says that other non-governmental groups working in Ethiopia on the elections were also not able to register.
On Friday, the chairwoman of the National Democratic Institute, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and the chairman of the International Republican Institute, Senator John McCain, sent a letter of complaint to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, whose ruling party faces tough competition at the polls.
The letter expressed deep concern about the expulsions, noting that no other government in the world had ever expelled the groups before. The letter warned that the move would reflect negatively on the Ethiopian government’s promise to hold open and democratic elections.
Ms. Albright and Senator McCain asked the Ethiopian leader to reconsider and allow the three groups to resume their work in Ethiopia.
Parliamentary polls in May will mark the third time Ethiopia has held elections since Prime Minister Meles took power in a military coup in 1991. But this is the first time they are taking place amid international scrutiny.
Fifty two election observers from the European Union arrived in the capital, Addis Ababa, on Friday to prepare the way for a larger team of more than 100 EU observers.
But opposition leaders, who accuse the government of not providing a level playing field in the elections, say the number of observers is not nearly enough to monitor voting in 38,000 polling stations across the country.
Prime Minister Meles’ Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front Party has won previous elections by overwhelming margins. The ruling party and its allies currently hold 519 of 548 seats in the federal parliament.
U.S. Senator John McCain and Hon. Madeleine Albright
Washington, DC
April 14, 2005
A joint press release from the National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute
Prime Minister of Ethiopia
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Your Excellency:
We write to express our concern and dismay over the recent expulsion from Ethiopia of representatives of the International Republican Institute (IRI), IFES, and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) by your government. With support from USAID, the three organizations sought to assist the democratic process and preparations for your May 15 general elections. These organizations carry out nonpartisan programs and support a democratic environment in which the integrity of the election process can be ensured and all parties understand their rights and responsibilities.
IRI, IFES, and NDI were coordinating with the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia to support the work of the election commission, dialogue among political parties and election authorities as a means of enhancing confidence and participation in the electoral process, political party pollwatching, and the creation of a code of conduct for the elections. All three organizations have been making good faith efforts to gain registration in accordance with
established laws and procedures and were assured by representatives of your government that their registration would be approved expeditiously.
In over 20 years of working around the world, until now no government has expelled NDI, IRI, and IFES. We are particularly perplexed by these expulsions at a time when your government has stated its intention to organize an open and democratic election process. This action will only raise questions about the credibility and transparency of these elections.
The United States and Ethiopia have a history of friendship and cooperation.
We continue to support the democratic aspirations of the Ethiopian people, and look forward to returning to Ethiopia to assist with future elections.
Until then, we urge the Government of Ethiopia to work towards creating an environment conducive to increasingly free and fair elections.
Sincerely,
U.S. Senator John McCain
Chairman of Board of Directors
International Republican Institute
