EU officials praise ‘miracle’ of Ethiopia’s election campaign

ADDIS ABABA, May 9 (AFP) — European Union (EU) observers on Monday lauded the openness of the run-up to Ethiopia’s upcoming general elections, following peaceful mass rallies at the weekend by government and opposition supporters.

Coalition for Unity and Democracy supporters give the party’s victory sign and wave Ethiopian flags, Sunday, May 8, 2005 during an election rally in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. (AP).

“Never before in Ethiopian history has there been such an open debate in the country,” said Tim Clarke, chief of the EU delegation in Addis Ababa, noting the decades of political repression the country was once known for.

“For people who have been here a long time, it’s a miracle what is happening these days,” he said. “Yes, there are deficiencies (but) this is only the third election in the country.”

With the campaign in full swing ahead of Sunday’s polls, the impoverished Horn of Africa nation’s third since 1991 and the first to be monitored by international observers, EU officials said they were pleased by positive signs for the vote.

Rob Vermaas, the Dutch ambassador to Ethiopia who represents the rotating EU presidency currently held by Luxembourg, said public interest in the hotly contested polls was particularly encouraging.

“The attention to the election in Ethiopia is remarkable because democracy in Ethiopia is still in its infancy,” he said.

Their remarks followed the arrival on Sunday of the last contingent of EU poll watchers, a group of 100 observers that will fan out to 25 areas with about 60 colleagues to monitor the vote.

EU officials have previously expressed concern about reports of harassment of the opposition but the latest comments came after hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians attended rival weekend rallies in the capital without incident.

On Sunday, at least 250 000 supporters of the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) turned out for a rally in the capital’s main Meskel Square, demanding an end to the 14 years in power of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

“What the people are saying today is: ‘We want change,’ ‘We want a new government,'” CUD President Hailu Shawel told the crowd. “We are going to win, I guarantee it.”

On Saturday, Meles’ Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) attracted about 600 000 people to a rally at the same venue.

“We have been in power for the last 14 years and you have seen what EPRDF can do and what it has done,” Meles said.

“If you elect us, I promise in the name of all party members we will do all we can for the well-being of the people and the country,” he said, promising to improve the lives of Ethiopia’s 70 million mostly impoverished citizens.

The EPRDF currently holds 481 of the 547 seats in Parliament. The CUD, an alliance of four parties, was only created at the end of last year, and therefore has no seats in the outgoing assembly.