20100523
ALL AFRICA

Addis Ababa — Before Election Day, Addis Fortune sat down with Thijs Berman, chief of the EU Election Observation Mission to Ethiopia, and interviewed him about the how the election campaigns, the electoral board, and his team’s mission were going as well as what he expected for today, Sunday, May 23, Election Day.

Q: How is the overall pre election environment?

For the whole picture and the whole analysis of the pre electoral period, you have to wait for the preliminary statement in which all aspects will be taken into account. But when I see the report by the long-term observers who are in the whole country, I see an environment in which people are campaigning, sometimes very energetically and powerfully, but peacefully.

Q: Have you had any problems, so far?

Our observers have had no problems at all. They have been able to work in excellent conditions. This is because of the very good cooperation of all the political parties, the cooperation with the Ethiopian authorities, and [the cooperation of] the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE.)

Q: Have you observed a shortage in terms of logistics?

I have no precise report yet on all the constituencies and polling stations. But as far as I can see, the material is well supplied in all the regions. But Ethiopia is a big country. I do not yet know to what extent all the polling stations have been provided with the necessary materials. You will find that out on the last day and Election Day, of course. What I see is that the NEBE has undertaken an enormous effort with very modest means. I can only hope that voters will vote massively and use the ballot papers that are ready for them. It is up to the Ethiopian citizens to make this election a success by voting peacefully.

Q: Do you expect all the 31,926,520 registered voters to cast their votes?

If the turnout is 100pc that would be suspicious, but if it turns out to be high, it will be good for Ethiopia's future, because it will mean that Ethiopian citizens feel committed, feel that this democracy is theirs and they want to express their votes in it.

Q: What kind of criteria have you used when deploying the long-term and short-term observers to regional states?

We have managed to send our observers evenly throughout the country in all regions in all major regional towns. They are travelling by car to little villages, and they have been talking to people for the past week. That is what they have been doing for the last weeks and we will do that on Election Day.

Q: Are there observers in remote areas such as Somalia and Afar regional states?

Yes, it is essential. You cannot leave a region aside; every region is covered. You also have to concentrate on very populous areas, because that is where the voters are. It is obvious that there are more observers where more voters reside. But we are everywhere, because every vote counts.

Q: You were not able to observe the registration of voters, because the invitation was late, so why did you accept the invitation?

The invitation came a bit late, but we think in the period we were here from April until now we have been able to make a very accurate assessment of the pre electoral period, even if we were not able to be present at the registration of voters and candidates, which is, of course, unfortunate.

But it is not the end of the world, either, because if there were any people who were dissatisfied or unhappy with the way the registration took place, they have had ample opportunity to come to us, and we have asked many people if there were problems with the registration process. We have an accurate picture of that first stage of the election, as well.

Q: How can you get a clear picture of the registration process when you have not been able to observe it yourself?

These long-term observers are specialists. They have done several observation missions, sometimes 20, sometimes 10. For some of us, they are extremely experienced. You can be sure that, if there is anything to be said about the period in which they were not here, we know by now what has happened, because these are essential elements of the pre electoral period, and they went into the subject, because it is an important factor.

Q: Do you mean they grasp the situation even though they were not here?

Absolutely.

Q: Did you interview the political parties while assessing the registration process?

Yes, we have interviewed political parties. This morning, when I was in Bahir Dar, I saw the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and Medrek having meetings of their own within 100 metres [of each other]. After the meeting, the local kebele chief came to us and asked his Medrek rival if there was anything they could do for them, and he (the Medrek person) said everything was fine. They had contact that I observed myself.

Q: Can you say there is a good rapport between political parties?

In that region, in that particular kebele area, it was obvious that there was no problem between these two political parties' leaders. But in other regions, it may be different. In that place my interpretation is very positive.

Q: The people who have died, alleged to have been killed in relation to politics, are insignificant to the pre election process, according to the Prime Minister said. Do you agree with him?

Death is rarely insignificant, especially for the one who dies. But this is an isolated incident that has no major consequence as a whole for the country, is what he means to say. This is something that we will assess in our preliminary statement, but we have not drawn our conclusions on that, yet.

Q: What will the preliminary statement be comprised of?

We will talk about the media, how they have been covering the election; and political parties, how they have been able to conduct their campaign. We will speak about the legal framework of the election, the way issues have been settled with the election law. We will speak about voters and candidate registration. We will speak about the human rights situation, about the death incidents that occurred, the general atmosphere, about allegations made by different parties, and we will try to verify whether the allegations are true or not. We will speak about the level playing field for political parties to try to win voters' sympathy.

Q: When will the final statement come out?

In the weeks that follow, but it depends upon when the final report of the NEBE is made. We will make our conclusions and recommendations at a press conference. We will post the final results up at www.eueom-ethiopia.org. It will be translated into the Amharic language.

Q: Will you leave the country before the final statement is made?

Yes, in between I will leave to The Netherlands, because there is a national election there. As a politician, I need to be active. However, the short and the long-term observers will stay here. The day I will be back depends upon the results announcement by the NEBE. But whenever it is necessary, I will come back. It [The Netherlands] is not that far away, and we do have Tony Reis, the deputy observer.

Q: To which European Union branch will you report?

Our final report will first be addressed to the Ethiopian citizens and the government. Since we came at the invitation of the Ethiopian government, we will give the preliminary report to Ethiopian citizens and the government and the European Union will read it, as well. I will send the report to the EU Commission, and we will speak about it with EU ambassadors in Ethiopia. But my main responsibility lies towards the Ethiopian citizens who invited us to come.

Q: What is the mechanism you use when observing campaigns?

We cannot say that the campaign were good or bad. We are only interested to know weather it has been conducted in accordance with Ethiopian law, respecting the freedom and rights of all political parties.

Q: What has been your perception concerning this?

This, I will not answer now, because it may influence the election, and that we cannot do.

Q: What challenges have you faced so far?

Nothing, Ethiopia is a very beautiful country. But the major challenge in Bahir Dar was mosquitoes and the sounds put out through megaphones at 4:00am in the morning by churches and mosques during my sleep. This was the major challenge in my observation mission to Ethiopia. I respect religion, but I respect silence just as much.