Oct 31, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and three opposition parties have signed a set of rules for next year's national elections amid accusations of a crackdown on dissent ahead of the poll.

The code of conduct was negotiated over two months under the observation of Western diplomats in the capital Addis Ababa. It will become Ethiopian law before parties begin registering in December for the May 23 poll.

"This puts us all on equal footing and forces us to have an election that reaches the standards of a democracy," Meles told an audience of politicians and diplomats late on Friday.

"It will be conducted peacefully," Meles said.

But a coalition of eight parties called Medrek refused to participate in the talks. The group is demanding bilateral negotiations on issues they say were left out, including electoral board reform.

The government says Medrek is the most significant threat to Meles, despite holding only 80 of parliament's 547 seats, and that it can still sign up to the code.

"We will sign only if we are satisfied on substantive issues we want to discuss around the rule of law and we want bilateral talks," Medrek spokesman Gebru Asrat told Reuters. "Our party members are harassed and jailed."