May 25, 2005
The EU speaks
This might go some way to explaining the funny figures set out below.
The European Union has just put out a statement basically slamming the National Election Board, the state press and the EPRDF. For me, the killer paragraph was:
Since election day, the state-owned media have been releasing on a daily basis provisional, unofficial results mainly showing the partial victories of the EPRDF in a number of constituencies and regions across the country. However, the same media outlets have ignored press conferences or any other statement about results made by opposition parties. For example, on May 18, while international media (e.g. CNN and BBC) covered the press conference by CUD, Ethiopian TV and Radio Ethiopia as well as the next day editions of the state-owned newspapers Addis Zemen and The Ethiopia Herald completely ignored it.You can pick your own favourite quotes from the full statement, included below the fold.
EUROPEAN UNION ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION ETHIOPIA 2005
Mission Statement
24 May, 2005
ASSESMENT OF VOTE COUNTING AND RELEASE OF ELECTORAL RESULTS
The European Union Election Observation Mission regrets the way in which the counting of the votes at the constituency level is being conducted as well as the way in which the release of results is being handled by the electoral authorities, the government and the political parties, especially the EPRDF. Contrary to voting day when the people of Ethiopia demonstrated a high sense of citizen responsibility and patience, and contrary to vote counting at the polling stations, where order and transparency prevailed, the following irregular practices are of concern:
- In a press appearance on Monday 16, EPRDF claimed victory in the absence of any results having been made public by the National Electoral Board. A similar statement was released on May 23.
- Ten days after the election, although electoral results had been posted outside the polling stations in most of the country, the National Electoral Board has only released results from 121 out of 547 constituencies.
- Since election day, the state-owned media have been releasing on a daily basis provisional, unofficial results mainly showing the partial victories of the EPRDF in a number of constituencies and regions across the country. However, the same media outlets have ignored press conferences or any other statement about results made by opposition parties. For example, on May 18, while international media (e.g. CNN and BBC) covered the press conference by CUD, Ethiopian TV and Radio Ethiopia as well as the next day editions of the state-owned newspapers Addis Zemen and The Ethiopia Herald completely ignored it.
- Regarding the European Union Election Observation Mission Preliminary Statement of May 17, the state-owned media reported the positive side of the statement while disregarding any critical comments.
These practices, taken as a whole, are seriously undermining the transparency and fairness of the elections. They also risk increasing the scope for manipulation and consequently putting in doubt public confidence in the process. The European Union Election Observation Mission would like to recall that the state media has a duty to report on post election events in an even-handed manner. This duty includes allowing all parties access to the media, albeit while respecting the public interest.
Posted by aheavens at May 25, 2005 3:55 PM
Comments
Finally the EPDRF most effective oppresion tool(most effective and graconian than the of the Nazi Goobble) is being exposed. Now west is syncing with the silent suffering of the ethiopian people. Eighter the oppostion wins or lost(fraudently) the election we know today by whom has being fooled Mr Blair and BBC just to mention some.
I think the opposition should boicot the parlament if the west is in sync to bring real democracy to ethiopia. Otherways if the west support is just temporal and they forget about us, I think the opposition should exersise in the parlament to have for example to have equal representation in the election of
1- The executive direction of the state owened media.
2- The federal and regional justice court judges
3- The national defence and security control commites (The Ethiopian defence and security bodies should account for the ethiopian people nad not for Mr Meles)
4- Reginal police corpus control commites
5- National Election Board.
Also should fight to illegalize any armed EPDRF cadres and personal meleses militias (this cardres should be disarmed as any other party members if EPDRF claim is in peaceful ethiopian constraction process). They have to remeber we are not in gorrilla war and the ethiopian people does not need it.
If the government does not enter to dialog to share this powers of counter cheking of key bodies. Then the opposition should go to boicot the parlament and also mobilise the people to take out this miserable democracy giver. He was thinking to take more money from the west in the name of being more transparent and democratic but this time the gun flashed back.
The is no democracy than the geniune one. And that geniune one desrves Ethiopia.
Posted by: Eskindir at May 25, 2005 4:43 PM
Andrew, you knew the EU report before you posted your "funny figure" comment. You had inside information about it. Aren't you and Andrew Mitchell "friends"? If he had the secret EU report you must have too. After the EU report became public, you came back and said YOU SEE!Something fishy is going on here.
Posted by: Jose at May 25, 2005 5:17 PM
ANDREW!
ARE YOU INSINUATING EPRDF COOKED UP THE NUMBERS? YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF.
Posted by: Dawit at May 25, 2005 5:40 PM
Jose:
Andrew is not insinuating anything. The EU report is. I don't know if you are Ethiopian or not, but stop trying to pull off a Jimmy Carter on us. Andrew, thanks for posting the report.
Posted by: Ethiopian at May 25, 2005 5:57 PM
Jose, please disregard the earlier post. It should have been directed at Dawit.
Dawit, the EU report says
"The European Union Election Observation Mission regrets the way in which the counting of the votes at the constituency level is being conducted..."
If you're contesting this because the word "cooked up" wasn't used please direct your complaints to the Ana Gomez or whoever wrote it up.
Posted by: Ethiopian at May 25, 2005 7:32 PM
Andrew, you doing fantastic job. I used to underestimate a bloger until I start reading your site. Remeber, do your job and not try to make anybody happy. I think that is what you have been doing so far. Keep it up. All I do is read your site in the morning before anything else.
Can you tell us more what is going on in Addis.
Posted by: Addis at May 25, 2005 7:47 PM
Hi Andrew;
Thank you for being my main life-line for in my effort to get election news. Your entries caputure the mood of the country better than than anythingelse I have read. For that I thank you.
Is there a way for you to get a hold of the full "confidential" EU report which the Associated Press cites in its news entry? If so, can you post it to your website?
Thanks
Tsehai
Posted by: Tsehai at May 25, 2005 8:17 PM
Dawit and Ben. the EU EOM team report states that " the National Electoral Board does not seem to be in control of the counting operation... These practices taken as a whole, are seriously undermining the transparency and fairness of the election." If this is not a charge against the party in power, then who do you think it is for?
May be yours is of the case where 'it is difficult to get a person to understand something when his liveihood depends on his not understanding it'
Posted by: Selam at May 25, 2005 8:55 PM
great job Andrew. Thank God you are there... your information quenches my thirst for the unbelievabely fast change devolopment in my birth country. You are luky Andrew for being a part of history as Ethiopians take control of their desteny.
Thank you.
Posted by: Nat at May 25, 2005 11:35 PM
heloo every one
i want you to do me afavour you know what it is?
i really want badly mis Ana Gomez's any address
please please do it now
i want it to thank her for every thing she is doing not for something else
thank you
Posted by: abebe at July 10, 2007 1:32 PM