EU says Ethiopian poll not up to standard
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
25 August 2005 12:58
The European Union said on Thursday that Ethiopia's disputed May 15 elections did not meet international standards in several key respects, including post-vote investigations into fraud.
In a report also harshly critical of weekend polls in Ethiopia's remote Somali state, which concluded the voting process under the country's split election cycle, the EU said the process had fallen short of democratic requirements.
"The EU observation mission regrets [that the election process] did not live up to the international standards and to the aspirations of Ethiopians for democracy," chief EU election monitor Ana Gomes told reporters.
She noted a litany of problems with post-election developments, including "irregularities, delays and opacity of the counting and aggregation of data plus subsequent fraud [and] handling of complaints".
Gomes said fraud complaint investigations -- conducted after deadly violence erupted in the capital in June following the release of preliminary returns -- that resulted in re-votes in about 30 constituencies on Sunday had not been satisfactory.
"Despite the significant efforts to accommodate complaints and verify them, the overall process has failed to give the remedy expected by the parties," she said.
At the same time, Gomes assailed Sunday's Somali state election as "poorly organised [and] full of irregularities, including ballots being sold on the black market".
Most of Ethiopia cast ballots for local legislatures and Parliament on May 15 in an exercise hailed at the time by EU and other international observers for its peaceful conduct and extremely high turnout.
But preliminary results, later confirmed, showing a ruling-party victory, sparked complaints of massive fraud, many of which are still unresolved amid threats of a Parliament boycott by Ethiopian parties.
Protests against the early returns turned deadly when police fired on crowds during demonstrations in the capital on June 8, killing at least 36 and as many as 42 people. -- Sapa-AFP
It is the report the world community has been waiting for and the verdict of the EU should be followed up with action.
Woyane and its Kangaroo parliament should be dissolved. The Ethiopian people should be forming their government with their elected members.
These thieves and fascist killers should not longer be allowed to sit on the shoulders of the Ethiopian people. Ethiopia should be able to move forward joining hands with the rest of the free world.
