EU to observe May general elections

The European Union (EU) has fielded one of its largest ever teams of election observers to Ethiopia for the 15 May general polls, the mission chief, Ana Gomes, said. Gomes told reporters on Monday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, that the forthcoming national elections could play a critical role in fostering democracy in Ethiopia and greater stability in the Horn of Africa. The 159-strong observer mission, which would cost about €2.8 million (US $3.68 million), had some initial concerns over whether the elections would be free and fair, she added. "These elections might be very important for the democratisation process here in Ethiopia and a very important factor in the stabilisation of the region," she said. Gomes, a European member of parliament, said that access to the media for the opposition groups, as well as potential partisanship of the national election board, were issues they would address. They would also pay close attention to elections in areas where violence has flared up in recent months, citing Gambella in western Ethiopia. "If we see major flaws we will not refrain from conveying our views either to the government or opposition parties, but we are here to observe, we are not here to interfere," she added. Gomes heads an initial team of nine observers. In April 50 additional observers will arrive, and in early May, 100 more observers will be deployed for the polls, she added. Opposition groups, however, criticised the mission, saying it had arrived too late and with too few observers to effectively monitor the 38,000 polling stations. "There are too few observers," Brehanu Nega, campaign manager for the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, one of the largest opposition groups, said. "We don't think 159 observers can effectively monitor voting in 38,000 polling stations." Critics also said the mission had missed critical voter and candidate registration across the country. "They have got here too late to make a difference," Beyene Petros, vice chairman of the rainbow coalition group, the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces, said. "These important points of observation have already been missed so the damage has already been done. You cannot have a free and fair election if you don't have these two important ingredients." Gomes dismissed the criticism saying it was never too late to arrive and added that they did not need to field observers at every polling station to establish the validity of the elections. The Ethiopian government said it welcomed the deployment of EU observers. "The government - welcomes the European delegation of observers and wishes them success in their work and a pleasant time in Ethiopia," a statement from the information ministry said. Ethiopia has a two-house parliament: the 110-seat upper House of the Federation and the 547-seat lower House of People's Representatives. More than 25 million of Ethiopia's 70 million people have registered to vote in May.