Ethiopian Parties Sign Electoral Code of Conduct

October 31, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) — After concluding their two-month negotiation this week, four political parties on Friday signed a comprehensive agreement at Sheraton Addis on a joint electoral code of conduct and its implementation guideline. The parties agreed to establish a joint council to handle problems related to election disputes. Forum for Democratic Dialogue (Forum), a group comprising of six parties and two prominent politicians which did not take part in discussions, said it considered the agreement reached between the four parties to be exclusuinary.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, chairperson of the Ethiopian Peoples Democratic Front (EPRDF), Engineer Hailu Shawel, chairperson of the All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP), Lidetu Ayalew, chairperson of the Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP) and Ayele Chamiso, chairperson of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP) signed the agreement on behalf of their respective parties.

During the signing ceremony, the leaders of the parties underlined that if the code of conduct is fully implemented it will open a new chapter in the country’s political environment.

The joint code of conduct includes agreements on accepting fair and free election results, usage of language in campaigning, party symbols, guidelines on voting, how to deal with harassment and violence, abuse of position, corrupt practices and creating continued communication.

In the joint document, the parties stated that they believed in and accepted the value a lawful, democratic and peaceful struggle and rivalry has for the faithful implementation of the human and democratic rights enshrined in the constitution and agreed, inter alia, to: resolve problems through dialogues, tolerance and give-and-take mechanisms; establish healthy relations between legally registered political parties in order to compete freely during the upcoming elections by shunning hate and mistrust; reject efforts to stay in power or assume government power through unconstitutional means; work together in cognizance of the fact that the electoral board and judicial and law enforcement organs should be free and independent from political parties in order to enable them discharge their duties without discrimination; sensitize the general public as well as governmental and political organizations about the need to strengthen democracy, human rights and the rule of law and make them aware that the success of the upcoming elections depends on them.

They affirmed that the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary have accepted that they have the duty to be transparent, loyal and accountable and that in consideration of their avowal to discharge their responsibilities they would work jointly for its realization.

The code of conduct requires, among others, all the parties who accept it to: respect the right of rivals to conduct an election campaign and press freedom; accept election results endorsed by a legitimate organ; organize their election campaign in a manner which is suitable to and contributes to the peacefulness of the voting, counting and post election process; refrain from using other candidates symbols; desist from intimidation, instigation of violence, abuse of position and corrupt practices including coercion and inducement; and create continued communications.

The code of conduct was drafted based on a code of conduct prepared by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and which was translated by the EPRDF. It also incorporated AEUP’s proposal which took into account the experiences of South Africa and Ghana as well as the views of EDP and CUDP.

Prof. Beyene Petros of Forum says that if the code of conduct is enacted into law, his group would consider it as an unwelcome law imposed on all the political parties legally operating in the country that were not party to its making.

“Just like others laws, we have the obligation to accept this code of conduct if it were to be enacted. We may accept it if it has important elements. But we are asking how a code of conduct that is signed by only four parties can legitimately bind the 90 political parties certified by the electoral board.”

Prof. Beyene noted that his party had initiated negotiations with the EPRDF some four years ago but that the ruling party was not willing to come to the negotiating table. “It is because of that Forum was out of these discussions, it was useless.”

Forum did not want to be part of the negotiation between the parties because its problem was only with the EPRDF and it was not obliged to discuss problems with unconcerned parties, he noted. “As long as our problems are with the EPRDF, why should we waste time by discussing issues with other parties?” he asked.

He accuses the EPRDF of allowing AEUP to be involved in the negotiations. “We all know that there is no a single seat in the name of this party but EPRDF is telling us that it has discussed electoral code of conduct with parties in the parliament.”

He also said that the ruling party is known for its double standards when it comes to political issues.

The 2010 election campaign will start on December 8 with voting scheduled for May 23 and announcement of final results on June 21, according to the draft timetable launched last week by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE). The board has held discussions on the draft election timetable with political parties and is expected to issue the amended version of the document.

In a press briefing he gave Thursday to journalists, Bereket Simon, Government Communications Affairs Minister, said as part of its commitments to make the upcoming national elections peaceful and democratic, the government has invited international observers from different parts of the world.

He, however, indicated that the invited observers should sign an accord on the code of conduct governing observers prior to taking up their assignment.

The negotiation between the four signatory political parties has opened a new chapter for the development of a multi-party system, he said. However, he criticized the withdrawal of Forum from the negotiation process on the ground that it preferred to have one-to-one discussion with the ruling EPRDF.

Forum withdrew from the negotiations due to disagreements with EPRDF over the absence of key issues on security as well as freedom of expression and movement in the then draft code of conduct.

Bereket said Forum has a right to register its candidates but warned that any violations of the code of conduct would incur penalties once it is adopted by Parliament.

“Signing the code of conduct is not a precondition for candidate registration. But if Forum violates the code of conduct, it will be a transgression of the laws of the country,” he added.