The National Electoral Board has issued a booklet detailing the codes of conduct for international election observers invited to attend the forthcoming national elections, which will take place on 15th May 2005.

The code of conduct for observers is reprinted below.

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia

Code of Conduct for International Election Observers

January 2005

Addis Ababa

1. International Observers

International observers are those invited to observe the election process, as through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

2. Credentials

2.1 Any international observer shall carry the credentials issued for the purpose.

2.2. Such credentials shall be issued by the Secretariat of the Board.

2.3 The Secretariat of the Board may revoke the credentials, where it believes that an international observer has violated the obligations laid down in this Code of Conduct.

3. Rights of International Observers

3.1 International observers shall have the right:

3.1.1 of access to officials of the Secretariat of the Board, at all levels;

3.1.2 to follow up the election process and may communicate to respective election officers any irregularities they observed thereby;

3.1.3 to request and obtain appropriate information relating to the election process.

3.2 International observers may set up a unit for the coordination of their observation activities and shall inform the Board of its structure and mode of operation.

4. Obligations of International Observers

4.1 Ethical Obligations

International observers shall:

4.1.1 show respect for the peoples and cultures of the country;

4.1.2 show a respectful and courteous attitude towards election officers and voters;

4.1.3 not display or wear any partisan symbols, colour or banners;

4.1.4 not carry a weapon of any kind.

4.2 Professional Obligations

International observers shall:

4.2.1 comply with all national laws and regulations;

4.2.2 familiarize themselves with the rules and regulations governing the election;

4.2.3 be bound by the general duties of impartiality, independence and objectivity;

4.2.4 never give instructions or interfere with the decisions of election officers or address problems themselves;

4.2.5 have the duty to refrain from practices that obstruct the proper and efficient carrying out of electoral operations;

4.2.6 identify themselves immediately, whenever so requested by the authorities.

5. Diplomats Designated as International Observers

Diplomats accredited to the country and having been designated as international observers, shall exercise their functions without prejudice to the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

6. Period of Observation

The observation exercise shall be carried out from the date of issuance of pertinent credentials until the announcement of election results.

7. Declaration of Opinion

7.1 International observers may bring to the attention of the officials of the Secretariat of the Board, or to the Board itself, such serious irregularities as they observed in the election process.

7.2 International observers shall:

7.2.1 not comment on the election, either within or outside the country, except after the conclusion of the counting of votes at polling stations.

7.2.2 provide to the Secretariat of the Board copies of written materials they produced, or of information they gathered, on the conduct of the election.

8. Responsibility of Election Officers

Election officers at any level shall submit a report, to their superiors as well as to security units, where they believe that an international observer has behaved in impediment of the proper and efficient conducting of the election.

9. Prohibition

Election officers may not, at their own discretion, prohibit or debar any international observer with lawful credentials from observing the election process.

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, January 2005

ENDS