The African Union (AU) Election Observation Mission on Wednesday called on Ethiopian political parties and candidates to exercise restraint to ensure that next Sunday’s parliamentary polls were conducted in a credible, transparent and peaceful environment.
Next Sunday, Ethiopia will hold its fifth national election since the fall of the Derg regime in 1991.
“The [AU] mission has deployed four teams of long-term observers in eight regional states, including capital Addis Ababa; visited 20 districts; and consulted with 104 interlocutors,” mission head Hifikepunye Pohamba said.
Pohamba, a former president of Namibia, described Ethiopia’s pre-poll political atmosphere as “calm” and “stable.”
He expressed confidence that Ethiopia’s official electoral commission would be able to conduct free, fair and credible polls.
Pohamba said the commission had assured his mission that it would safeguard all poll-related materials before, after and during the balloting.
The commission, he added, had created appropriate conditions in which political parties could file complaints in case of irregularities.
“Some political parties have been following the legal procedures in order to lodge complaints,” Pohamba said, calling on all political parties to adhere to the appropriate legal mechanisms.
He added, however, that the mission still had concerns regarding Ethiopia’s media law, anti-terrorism law and civil society law.
He said some observers believed these laws served to limit citizens’ political rights and restrict free expression.
The AU mission called on concerned institutions to expedite the resolution of poll-related complaints, asking the media to help raise awareness of these issues among Ethiopian voters.
Some 58 political parties are expected to contest Sunday’s elections at both the federal and state levels.
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