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27 November 2006
The anti-Ethiopia campaign, which was launched by some members of European Parliament following last year's parliamentary elections, has violated the Cotonou Agreement, Ethiopia's legislator said Sunday.
Teshome Toga, speaker of Ethiopia's lower House of People's Representatives (HPR), made the remark while addressing the 6th Conference of the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Countries as well as the 12th Joint Conference of the Parliaments of the Africa- Caribbean-Pacific and the European Union held in Barbados, the Caribbean, according to a statement from the House of People's Representatives.
Teshome said the interference of a delegation of European Parliament in the internal affairs of the country has been the root cause of the disagreement with the final election results. The delegation came to Ethiopia to observe the country's parliamentary elections held in May 15, last year.
The final election results indicate that the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Party (EPRDF), which has ruled the country for the past 14 years, has won 327 seats of the 547- seat HPR, enough to form the federal government.
The largest opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and another opposition party, the United Ethiopian Democratic Force (UEDF), were in second and third places with 109 and 52 seats respectively. The two opposition parties accuse the ruling party of massive electoral fraud.
The Ethiopia's speaker underscored that political differences should be addressed through constructive discussions as per the Cotonou Agreement.
The destructive movement of some of the members of the European parliament against Ethiopia should be stopped immediately since it destabilizes the unity and sovereignty of the nation, said Teshome.
Moreover, he said that building democratic system, ensuring good-governance and economic development across the nation is the responsibility of the government and the people of the country and not the duty of partners and friends.
The Ethiopian government is willing to continue holding discussions with the European Union since the EU is one of the forefront development partners of Ethiopia, said Teshome.
Source: Xinhua