CONTACTING OBASANJO ON ETHIOPIAN ELECTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 000850 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF, AF/E E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2015 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM ET NI SUBJECT: CONTACTING OBASANJO ON ETHIOPIAN ELECTION REF: A. TUCKER-CAMPBELL E-MAIL 5/25/05 ¶B. ABUJA 809 AND 651 Classified By: Ambassador John Campbell for Reasons 1.4 (B & D). ¶1. (C) Upon receipt of Ref A e-mail containing State 93687, we began asking for a meeting with President Obasanjo to deliver the talking points therein on how the AU is treating the Ethiopian election. Obasanjo is still in Paris on a four-day visit to France and is not expected to return to Nigeria until at least May 27, perhaps later if he goes to Addis Ababa for Darfur consultations. We have made a formal request to the Foreign Ministry to see Obasanjo, but expect that would be granted no sooner than Saturday May 28 and more likely May 31 or later because May 29 and 30 are a Nigerian holiday. ¶2. (C) Given the time sensitivity of election action continuing to move forward in Ethiopia, it may be best for the Department (or Embassy Paris) to contact Obasanjo in Paris before his scheduled departure there in the morning of Friday May 27. Post also advises that USG interlocutors discussing election problems anywhere in Africa with Obasanjo read Reftels B on his model for his and AU responses -- specifically that the AU (or in Togo's case ECOWAS) would judge an election to be democratic enough for AU standards and then press both the proclaimed winner(s) and loser(s) to form a national unity government. CAMPBELL