05/27/2010

Addis Ababa, May 26, 2010 Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the provisional election result has depicted the public recognition to EPRDF?s improvement and also delegation of responsibilities entrusted to it. Meles has also said the European Union Electoral Observation Mission preliminary report has included hard facts on the election but its conclusion has fallacy. In a press conference he gave to local and foreign journalists here on Wednesday the premier said EPRDF will honor the great and decent decision of the Ethiopian people. The premier said EPRDF has won more than its expectation which it has set out to secure 50 to 75 percent of the election. However, he said according to the provisional election results EPRDF has won the majority seats which in turn enforce EPRDF to intensify its commitments. Therefore, the premier said EPRDF will revise its five years plan following the great responsibility entrusted to it by the people of Ethiopia. He said its plan among others is to register 10.1 percent economic growth on average, expanding micro and small enterprise development and ensuring good governance issues need to be revised for the next five years. Meles said the people granted its voice for rent for the next five years not to tenure. Thus EPRDF will work diligently to address the issue of the public. Asked about the impacts winning almost all seats in parliament by EPRDF on multiparty system, Meles said the election result won?t affect the multiparty system because the exercise of multiparty system is not determined by having seats in the parliament or not as it is the case for other countries like Sweden and Japan. He said the constitutional duties and responsibility of the parliament is responsible to oversight the function of the executives and legislation. Therefore, holding majority seats by EPRDF will never weaken multiparty system as EPRDF will engage opposition parties in national concerns weather they have seats in the parliament or not. The premiere said the features of multiparty system should realize whether there is the freedom of organization, expression and the right to exercise these freedoms. Asked about EU-EOM preliminary report Meles said the mission?s report has clearly put the hard facts like the capability of NEBE and as voting counting was not rigged. However, the premier said the conclusion of the report is a complete fallacy of stated facts in which he described a ?politicized conclusion?. Meles said though the mission has signed an agreement not to mix up the political stand in its mission it did so as the government expect. Therefore, he said the Ethiopian government won?t accept it deliberate fallacy conclusion. However, Meles said there will not be any conflict with European Commission .He mentioned the congratulatory message from High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, Catherine Ashton. Asked about complaints of opposition parties on the election results he said as far as they channel their complaints in peaceful manner through legal process for pertinent bodies, they can forward grievances. However, if they do otherwise, the outcome would be dire. The premier said massive rally held on Tuesday in Addis Ababa has conveyed a clear message for HRW and other external force not to intervene on Ethiopian issues. Meles said the demonstrators urged HRW and other external forces to respect their voice as the people of Ethiopia are the only determinant to ensure sovereignty right. He said as the election results clearly showed it is not the EPRDF won the election but the democracy, the people and the Ethiopian renaissance win the election. The premier responded to various questions raised by the journalists including Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and the Nile River issues.