Ethiopia: Two Deadlines Gone, Only Five Collect Election Symbols
Legesse Lanikamo, secretary of the Sidama Liberation Movement, says his
party decided to participate in the election "after a long discussion
with the Sidama people," although he still vows allegiance to the cause
of the 33 parties.
On the press conference held at the head
office of the Blue party on Tuesday, Asrat Tase, the chairperson of the
33 parties and Gebru Gebremariam, executive member of Medrek, declared
that they will be taking their case to the court if the election board
does not accept their claim.
Only five of the 33 parties that are in dispute with the National
Electoral Board of Ethiopia, have collected their candidature symbols
for the local election, which may not see the participation of the
remaining 28 parties.
The five that have joined the list are; the Ethiopian Justice &
Democratic Front, Sidama Liberation Movement, Dube & Degeni Nations
Democratic Party, Ethiopian Democratic Unity and Yebaher Work Mesmes
People Democratic Organisation, according to Yesmah Jiru, vice public
relations officer of the National Election Board.
The timeline for collecting symbols was set to take place between
November 23 and December 27, 2012. The deadline was then extended to
December 29, in order to accommodate parties that had not taken symbols,
whilst awaiting clarification from the election board. Of the 75
parties inEthiopia, only 29 parties have so far selected symbols from
the list provided by the Board.
On October 26, 2012 the election board called a meeting with all the
parties in Adama, Oromia, to announce the election schedule. Some
opposition parties wanted to discuss the election process and the
schedule before agreeing with the Board's outlines. At the end of that
meeting, 33 parties signed a petition to the Board in which they
described the subjects, which they wanted discussed. The parties listed
18 questions, all of which were rejected by the Board, as either
outdated, or as having already been addressed during the 2010 election.
The problems mentioned by the 33 parties, include the perceived
affiliation of the EPRDF with the electoral board, the judiciary, police
and media outlets. Another concern was the inability of observers from
opposition parties, the public and international organisations to
observe the elections. This was raised in addition to comments about the
improper use of funds allocated to the parties by the electoral board,
or obtained from international sources.
Asrat Tassie, chairperson of the committee of the parties, expressed
certainty that whatever the parties decided to do, they all still agreed
with the list of complaints submitted to the Board. He says that he has
not heard from any of the 33 parties whether they have taken symbols or
not, adding that each party could do whatever it wanted.
But not all parties may agree on the committee's list of worries. The
Ethiopian Justice & Democratic Forces Front is one of the 33
signatories, but only because it wants further discussions on the
Board's election schedule, according to Girmay Adera, chair person of
the party.
Legesse Lanikamo, secretary of the Sidama Liberation Movement, says
his party decided to participate in the election "after a long
discussion with the Sidama people," although he still vows allegiance to
the cause of the 33 parties.
"All the questions they raised are our questions, too," he told Fortune.
A second deadline has passed, without 28 of the 33 parties collecting
their symbols. These parties said, at a press conference held on
Tuesday January 15, 2013, at the head office of the Blue Party, located
nearSandfordInternationalSchool, that the Board should not have rejected
their complaints without first asking for evidence of their claims.
"We have sufficient evidence for each and every claim," Gebru
Gebremariam, executive member of the Forum for Democratic Dialogue
inEthiopia(Medrek) and member of the committee said, during the
conference.
With the passing of the second deadline, none of those that have not
yet taken their symbols have asked for further extensions. They
declared, at the press conference, that under the current circumstances,
talking about elections and voting was like helping the ruling party in
its election conspiracy and assisting in the violation of election
principles.
"No party has asked us to extend the deadline and we are about to
finalise the process," said Yesmah on Wednesday January 16, in an
interview with Fortune. "If they really want to run in the election, the
Board might discuss and adjust the timetable."
The parties, on the other hand, say they could go to court, in order to get their list of 18 questions addressed.
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