20100523
ALL AFRICA

Addis Ababa — Before tens of millions of registered voters are expected to cast their votes today, Sunday, May 23, 2010, Election Day, Merga Bekana, chairman of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) took time to answer questions from Addis Fortune about the preparedness of the board for the voting process and answered questions about the recent changes made to the rules governing acceptable marks on voting cards.

Q. What kind of option is prepared for voters who lost their voting card?

It will be verified by the electoral officers in the presence of party agents and public observers. After verification, a person who is registered will be allowed to cast their vote.

Q. Does this mean there is a backup registration list?

Yes, there is. This makes life easier for credibility. We are not dealing with 4,000 or 5,000 voters like the 2005 general election. We have reorganised polling stations to serve not more than 1,000 voters. The name of the voter should be verified from the registration roll.

Q. What kind of preparation has been done by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to safeguard the voters and election officials?

Polling stations shall, prior to Election Day, be organised in a manner that will sufficiently secure and protect all. Persons who are not voters and persons who have already voted, other than those who are engaged in conducting election activities, must keep out of the vicinity of the polling station. No person should be present within a radius of 500 metres of a polling station while drinking or carrying a weapon or any other situation disturbing peace. The responsibility of securing the safety of the voters and all the stakeholders lies with the chief electoral officers. When the chief electoral officers or public observers of a particular polling station believe that force is needed to defend the security, they may make a request to the concerned body. We have given training to the police regarding the standards of elections.

Q. How many security guards are assigned per polling station?

We have security wardens, not real security professionals. But if deemed necessary, we can call the concerned body depending upon the severity of the circumstance.

Q. The "X" sign and thumb print are the only voting marks of this election?

Certainly, this amended law is the product of negotiation between all political parties in Parliament. It is uniformly applied to all political parties and regions. No need to complain about that. Those who can write can make the "X" mark, and those who can not write, can use a finger print. We used this in the local elections of 2008 very recently.

Q. In the 2005 election other kinds of signs were allowed.

Yes, to make it participatory, we accepted different kinds of marks on top of those two marks. But in 2007, it became a strict law. The board is serious with the legal framework.

Q. The Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP) was complaining about the sign issue. Is it not the job of the NEBE to create awareness?

Yes, they did come to us and discuss the issue. They admitted that they had made a mistake. Therefore we engaged to train the voters about the two marks. We do not expect confusion concerning those marks. But, first and foremost, we would like to mention that civic education of the voters is the duty of the board.

Q. Does the board believe it has created awareness concerning the signs?

Yes, we have been dealing with this issue since last week and we have instructed all the 43,000 polling stations to tell the voters to put one of the two signs only before they want to cast their vote. This is in addition to the training we conducted through radio, TV, and personal contacts.

Q. Do you think the time allocated to teach the signs was enough?

Yes, we have learnt from our previous as well as other countries' election experiences. In the 2005 elections, there was no standard document of reference. The training was done by civil society organisations with no standard document. There were discrepancies among the regional states. The trainings were quite different from one another, which created confusion. We needed to bring uniformity into this election and gave the training to the best of our ability wherever the voters are located.

Q. What kind of option is prepared for people who do not have a thumb?

They will vote, but the political parties and election officials will decide on what should be done. Legally, they are permitted to decide.

Q. How many backup voting papers are prepared?

Ten per cent. A maximum of 1,000 voters will vote at a single polling station. We have also prepared four secret ballots at each polling station. This will allow voters not to have to rush, making mistakes. I would say that the prepared backup is enough.

Q. How much time will it take for one voter to cast his vote?

It depends up on the individual. But for those who have already decided who to vote for and are literate, I do not think it will take them more than three minutes. I will tell you when I conduct research, because we are going to do research on the whole process of the 2010 General Elections after the election is finalised.

Q. What will happen to those voters who are lining up after 6:00pm?

Those voters who are at the premises of the polling station will have the chance to cast their votes, but to those who are lining up outside will not be allowed to cast their votes, because the polling station must be closed according to the law and the timetable. But, do not expect the elections to be as the 2005 elections when more than 4,000 voters were casting their votes at a single polling station. The 43,000 polling stations are prepared to solve this problem. We are even hoping that it will be finalised before the fixed time.

Q. Has the NEBE taken into consideration natural disasters on Election Day?

In case of special circumstances, not only natural disasters, the board will decide on Election Day if there is any kind of situation which could potentially elongate the voting day, but the voters will be notified. We will be on standby for such circumstances.

Q. When will the final results be announced?

About a month, because it takes time to collect each result from all over the country. The time frame was suggested by the political parties. We are planning to use fax a machines as major way of collecting the tallies.

Q. What is your message to the contending political parties and the electorate?

Accept results, respecting the decision of voters and work with the winner for the development of this country. Voters, use your chance to vote to bring about the next government in a peaceful manner.