NEBE Reviewing Complaints on 299 Constituencies

6 June 2005

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) is reviewing complaints on 299 constituencies filed by political parties that contested in the 15 May national and regional parliamentary elections.

The Board’s legal experts are working on the classification of the complaints sorting them out by their types. The next step will be the screening process where each compliant will be reviewed against the supporting evidences produced to decide whether it merits an investigation.

“The NEBE will develop criteria for screening the complaints,” says Kemal Bedri, Chairman of NEBE. “The Board will forward the criteria to political parties in a bid to enrich the document with their inputs.”

The Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) have submitted the majority of the complaints.

“Complaints investigating committees drawn from contending parties, international observers and the Board will be established by the end of this week,” says Kemal. “The number and size of the committees will be determined based on the number of complaints decided to be investigated.”

The committees will present their findings to the Board, which will pass final decisions. After reviewing the findings, the NEBE may uphold provisional results or order revote or recounting.

The Board Chairman noted that re-election could be ordered only if the magnitude of the irregularities committed can determine the outcome of the elections in a certain constituency.

The NEBE had decided to extend the official announcement date of the results to July 8 allowing a one-month period for the investigation of complaints.

For further information please contact:
Press Officer: Getahun Amogne Tel: 251-9-643738
Assistant Press Officer: Hiwot Alemayehu Tel: 251-9-487576