has agreed to monitor Ethiopia's elections in May, nearly
five years after Addis Ababa accused the EU's chief
observer in the last poll of helping to spark violence.
The U.S.-based Carter Centre declined an invitation
to observe, saying there was not enough time to
prepare for the May 23 vote in the impoverished
nation on the Horn of Africa.
"(EU foreign affairs chief) Baroness (Catherine)
Ashton last week decided to send a full
observation team for the elections," EU
ambassador to Ethiopia, Dino Sinigallia, said late
on Tuesday on state-run Ethiopian television.
The monitoring team will be 200-strong and have
a budget of about $10 million, Sinigallia said.
Next month's election will be the first since a
government victory in 2005 was disputed by
opposition parties and some observers. Monitors
said the poll fell short of global standards.
Security forces killed about 200 protesters and imprisoned the main
opposition leaders in the aftermath of the vote five years ago.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi had accused the chief EU observer of siding with
the opposition and stoking the violence.
Some critics and analysts say that the EU presence at the coming election
risked legitimising a fraudulent poll, in a country of 80 million people and
more than 80 ethnic groups.
"The mission won't be able to properly observe," one analyst, who did not
want to be named for fear he would be refused entry to Ethiopia, told
Reuters.
"At least two-thirds of the voters live more than two hours walk from a
road. Unable to observe at a grass roots level, the EU will simply register
complaints. The regime will deny. The mission has no mandate to
investigate."
The opposition says the government scares people into voting for it.
For its part, the government says the opposition is divided and intent on
discrediting the poll. Results are expected to be announced on June 21, a
month after voting is due to begin. (Reporting by Barry Malone; Editing by
Jack Kimball and Simon Cameron-Moore)
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