Parties sign non-violence pact ahead of elections

The political parties contesting Ethiopia’s national elections agreed on Thursday to resolve any differences peacefully and not to engage in any form of electoral violence. Seventy-two hours before polling, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) agreed to the deal with the two major opposition parties. Information Minister Bereket Simon, who is also the EPRDF spokesman, said the pact ensured that all sides fighting for power would respect the law. "There is anxiety in some sectors of the population over whether the elections will end peacefully," he told reporters in Addis Ababa. "People are interested in a peaceful outcome." Two weeks ago, both sides signed an accord that stipulated how they would behave during the campaign period, which was due to end officially on Friday. Although the National Election Board (NEB) has stressed that the campaign has been peaceful, both opposition parties and the government have levelled allegations that their rivals were fermenting trouble. The EU’s chief observer, Ana Gomes, has also urged the political parties to tone down their rhetoric to prevent disturbances. It was the first time political parties in Ethiopia have ever signed such an agreement. Gizachew Shifarew, from the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, which is the largest opposition group, said his members would respect the agreement. "People must be free to choose which part they want to vote for, and this nonviolence pact means that they cannot be intimidated," he told reporters. Meanwhile, former US President Jimmy Carter arrived in Ethiopia on Thursday, leading a 50-member observer team. Joining his team were former Botswana President, Sir Ketumile Masire, and former Tanzania Prime Minister, Joseph Warioba. The NEB, in collaboration with the UK-based Electoral Reform International Services, who have been brought in to help run the elections, drafted the nonviolence pact. In a related development, Ethiopia’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that local organisations could field domestic observers to monitor polling. It rejected an appeal by the NEB, who wanted to impose new laws that could effectively have banned thousands of local observers. However, Netsanet Demissie, director of the Organisation for Social Justice, said with voting just three days away it was too late to field the 3,000 observers they originally planned. "We think in the time left before the elections, we can train and deploy around 280 observers," he said. "We are extremely disappointed. We cannot understand why the election board would want to prevent Ethiopians from monitoring their own elections." The move comes after several weeks of legal battles that started on 20 April between 14 local organisations wanting to field observers and the election board. More than 25.6 million of Ethiopia's 71 million people have registered to vote in Sunday's elections. Thirty-five political parties will contest places in the 547-seat House of Peoples' Representatives, the lower house of parliament. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s EPRDF party is widely expected to win a third five-year term in the country. The EPRDF and affiliated parties currently hold 519 of the seats in the lower house. Voters will also elect representatives in nine regional state parliaments, which appoint members to the 112-seat Council of the federation, the upper house.