EU High Representative Josep Borrell Monday disclosed the real reason the European Union canceled election observation to Ethiopia.
” Ethiopian authorities would not agree to key parameters regarding the bloc’s observation mission, he said. The June elections come amid an ongoing crisis in the Tigray region.
“As conditions are not fulfilled, the deployment of the mission has to be cancelled,” he asserted.
“The integrity of an election observation mission is the cornerstone of the EU’s support for democracy,” Borrell said.
“It is disappointing that the EU has not received the assurances necessary to extend to the Ethiopian people one of its most visible signs of support for their quest for democracy,” he later added.
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The statement says the EU has given more than €20 million ($24.1 million) to the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to prepare for the upcoming elections this summer.
Ethiopian elections are slated for June 5. The elections were originally supposed to be held in August 2020, but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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