NATIONAL ELECTORAL BOARD WELL-TRAINED, SOLID ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 002903

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL ET
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ELECTORAL BOARD WELL-TRAINED, SOLID ON
PROCESS

REF: A. ADDIS ABABA 2741

B. ADDIS ABABA 2817

C. ADDIS ABABA 2877

D. ADDIS ABABA 2878

E. ADDIS ABABA 2880

Classified By: Classified by CDA Tuli Mushingi for Reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d)


1. (C) Summary: The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia
(NEBE) Chairman told visiting Deputy Assistant Secretary Karl
Wycoff the NEBE was prepared to hold free, peaceful and fair
parliamentary elections in 2010. Over the past year, the
NEBE has carried out strategic planning, structural reform
and logistical training in order to prepare 200,000 election
workers to staff 43,000 polling stations. While the NEBE
has a legal mandate to carry out the elections, the mandate
of the new Joint Council of Political Parties is to remedy
electoral complaints in the first instance through discussion
and the collaborative process. The NEBE is receiving
extraordinary scrutiny on the issue of registration of
political parties. (Note: Following DAS Wycoff's visit, on
December 4 the NEBE issued the Forum a temporary certificate
of registration and recognition of legal personality valid
for five years. End Note.) The NEBE Chairman expressed
confidence that new voting observation guidelines and
procedures, including smaller polling places and more
stringent vote counting, would lead to a smoother process on
election day. Stressing the importance of free and fair
elections, DAS Wycoff emphasized the importance of the
impartial, effective, and transparent role for the NEBE,
including the provision of a credible and timely dispute
resolution mechanism and prompt and fair registration of
parties and candidates. End Summary.

NEBE Preparations for 2010 Elections
--------------

2. (SBU) In a November 20 meeting with visiting Deputy
Assistant Secretary Karl Wycoff, National Electoral Board of
Ethiopia (NEBE) Chairman Merga Bekana said the NEBE was
prepared to hold free, peaceful, and fair parliamentary
elections on May 23, 2010. Merga stated that &this election
will be different from the three previous elections, because
this election will be government by rules and regulations.8
He further stated that since 2005, the NEBE has carried out a
strategic plan for strengthening its electoral process that
was drafted with UNDP assistance.


3. (SBU) To this end, the NEBE has added professional staff
to the Board, carried out a technical survey of logistical
challenges and drafted a plan to address those challenges,
reviewed and revised NEBE directives concerning electoral
conduct, sent NEBE staff to numerous international training
programs and participated in elections monitoring in Africa,
Europe, Asia, and the United States, developed training
materials for poll workers, and developed standardized voter
education materials to be used throughout the country. Merga
emphasized the importance of providing standardized voter
education materials to the electorate, noting that the
provision of disparate materials by parties in the previous
election created misunderstanding and conflict. He stated
that the NEBE has nearly completed Amharic, English, and
local language training materials for more than 200,000 poll
workers, which will be distributed in the coming months, but
did not explain how training would be conducted.DAS Wycoff
stressed the importance of an impartial, effective, and
transparent role for the NEBE, including in a credible and
timely dispute resolution mechanism and in prompt and fair
registration of parties and candidates.

Joint Council of Political Parties a Political Mechanism,
NEBE a Legal Mechanism
-------------- --------------

4. (SBU) Merga described the electoral Code of Conduct (CoC)
recently drafted by four political parties and signed by a
total of 65 parties who have now formed a "Joint Council of
Political Parties" as a &breakthrough in Ethiopian
politics,8 which will &create an environment of harmony and
trust between political parties that has not existed in the
past.8 In response to DAS Wycoff,s question how the CoC
would add to Ethiopia,s existing electoral laws, and how the
Joint Council established by the CoC will function beside the
NEBE, Merga explained that the Joint Council is a &political

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mechanism8 comprised of party leaders, which is intended to
remedy electoral complaints in the first instance through
discussion and collaborative process. However, the NEBE
still has a legal mandate to conduct elections, investigate
irregularities, and resolve grievances. When allegations of
misconduct cannot be resolved by the Joint Council, they will
be moved to the NEBE, which provides a &legal mechanism8 to
resolve disputes. Allegations that cannot be resolved by the
NEBE will be resolved by the courts.

Registration of Political Parties
--------------

5. (SBU) In response to DAS Wycoff,s query regarding the
progress of political party registration, Merga admitted that
the NEBE was receiving extraordinary scrutiny on this issue,
and asserted that the NEBE is &loyal to our nation and our
constitution, but not to political parties.8 For the most
part, party registration is being carried out with little
difficulty, but the much-scrutinized request for registration
of the coalition of eight parties comprising the Forum for
Democratic Dialogue (Forum) has presented challenges. Merga
and NEBE Deputy Chairman Addisu Gebreigzabhier said the Forum
is not formally recognized as an alliance by the NEBE at
present, but rather each of the eight parties is recognized
as an independent entity. Merga stated that while the eight
parties want to register as &an alliance,8 they do not
necessarily meet the legal criteria to do so. (Note:
Following DAS Wycoff's visit, on December 4 the NEBE issued
the Forum a temporary certificate of registration and
recognition of legal personality valid for five years. End
Note.)


6. (C) For example, according to Merga, the Oromo People,s
Congress (OPC) has already registered with the NEBE in a
&union8 with several parties from the Southern Nations,
Nationalities, and Peoples Region, and has registered in
&coalition8 with the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement
(OFDM),but now wants to register an &alliance8 with the
seven other Forum members. And while alliances are permitted
by Ethiopia,s electoral law, there are currently no
provisions governing the issue of multiple and potentially
contradictory alliances. &Technically,8 stated Merga,
&this is a problem for us.8 Merga and Addisu noted that
they &don,t understand the Forum,s ulterior motive8 and
have no idea how the parties intend to slate candidates,
suggesting that while they are assessing the issue of the
Forum,s registration, a solution is not imminent.

Election Observers
--------------

7. (SBU) On the issue of election observers, Merga
explained that while the NEBE is authorized to govern all
election observers, and has drafted new regulations to govern
them, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has the mandate
to invite and approve international observers. Once an
invitation has been issued, the NEBE will license them and
regulate their conduct. To date, the MFA has invited, but
not yet formally approved any international observers.
Regarding domestic observers, Merga stated that in 2005 a
major problem resulted from the presence of too many people
at polling stations. As a result, for the 2010 elections,
the NEBE has delineated polling districts of no more than
1,000 voters, and will send five public election observers to
each polling place. This does not include party observers,
who will be permitted at each polling place where they have a
registered candidate, and any international observers
approved by the MFA.


8. (SBU) DAS Wycoff emphasized the importance of the
presence of impartial domestic and international observers.
He also expressed the need for a role for civil society
participation in the elections, and expressed concern about
how the Civil Society Proclamation might exclude experienced
certain organizations from conducting both domestic
observation as well as voter education in the runup to the
elections. DAS Wycoff highlighted the importance of the
creation of an environment conducive to participation in an
open election process by all political parties, including
both the ruling party as well as all opposition parties.


9. (SBU) Merga expressed great confidence in the NEBE,s
newly drafted observation procedures, detailing that thirty
minutes before voting begins in each polling place, each

ADDIS ABAB 00002903 003 OF 003


party observer must sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
that the ballot box is empty. Public observers will then
conduct voting throughout the day, in the presence of any
party and international observers. At the end of voting, all
votes will be counted by public observers at the polling
places where they were made, in the presence of all
observers. Each party observer must then sign the MOU
stating that the tabulation was fair. There will be no
transportation of ballot boxes, to eliminate the potential
for cheating. Rather, each polling station will post its
tabulation locally, and send that number to the NEBE in Addis
Ababa. The NEBE will then publicly post results by polling
station, which can be compared with and verified against the
local tallies.
MUSHINGI