Former President Carter Praises Ethiopia's Electoral Process
http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=D764FE:2F72C9DJimmy Carter leads 50-member delegation from Atlanta-based Carter
Center to observe Sunday's national, regional elections
The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia chairman Kemal Bedri, left,
greets former U.S. President Jimmy CarterFormer President Jimmy Carter
says he has not seen a pattern of pre-election misconduct by the
Ethiopian ruling party, as charged by the opposition and some
international observers. Mr. Carter arrived in Ethiopia Thursday to
lead a 50-member delegation from the Atlanta-based Carter Center to
observe Sunday's national and regional elections. The elections are
being seen as a key test of Ethiopia's commitment to democracy.
President Carter spoke to reporters Friday, following talks with
members of Ethiopia's National Election Board.
He says he is encouraged by the progress that Ethiopia has made toward
embracing full democracy, which will help stabilize the volatile Horn
of Africa region.
Sunday's parliamentary elections will be the third democratic ballot
since the ruling party, led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, took power
in Ethiopia in 1991 and the first to be monitored by international
observers.
"Obviously, as President Bush has said many times, a demonstration of
the highest quality of democracy and the right of the people to choose
their own leaders and to shape the basic principles and attitudes of
the government is the best prohibition against the spread of
terrorism," Mr. Carter said.
Responding to reporters' questions about allegations that officials
from the ruling party and coalition allies have killed, intimidated,
harassed, and arrested opposition politicians and supporters in the
run-up to the polls, Mr. Carter says he believes such incidents have
been isolated and are not part of a deliberate campaign by the
government to weaken the opposition.
"My best understanding at this point is that there is no pattern of
intimidation or interference in the electoral procedures," he said.
Mr. Carter also defended the work of the National Election Board
against accusations by the opposition and various civil society groups
that the board is blatantly pro-government and has done little to
promote a level playing field.
"My own personal opinion, on a very preliminary basis is that the
National Election Board here is honest and fair," he said. "And I make
that statement based on decisions that have been made, in treating the
opposition with adequate opportunity to present their case to the
public, to have public demonstrations of political support, to
allocate television time to the ruling party and to opposition parties
and to have an honest and fair registration process."
The Ethiopian government did hand-pick members for the National
Election Board. But it says it only chose people who had proven track
records for showing honesty and non-partisanship.
In a thinly veiled warning, however, the former U.S. leader also made
clear that should the government try to prevent Ethiopians from
holding a free and fair election on Sunday, he and his team of
observers would not hesitate to denounce it.
"My personal integrity and the reputation of the Carter Center is at
stake," he said. "And so, I intend to make an absolutely accurate and
unbiased assessment after the election is over. In a few cases, we've
declared the election to be illegitimate and we made the statement to
the people of that nation and also to the international community and
that's a very profound action for us to take. But we don't hesitate to
do that should that occur."
The Carter Center is a non-governmental organization, which has
monitored 60 elections worldwide.
On Sunday, its observers will join nearly 300 others from the European
Union and other nations to monitor some of the 31,000 polling stations
across the country.
Prime Minister Meles' Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic
Front Party has won the two previous elections by overwhelming
margins. The ruling party and its allies currently hold 519 of 548
seats in the federal parliament.