VZCZCXRO0776
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHDS #2536 3000410
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 270410Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6611
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHXQ/ALL EUROPEAN UNION POSTS COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 002536
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ET
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA INVITES EUROPEAN UNION TO OBSERVE 2010
ELECTIONS
Swedish Ambassador to Ethiopia Jens Odlander told Charge that
Sweden, as EU presidency holder, has received a Note Verbal
from the Government of Ethiopia inviting the EU to deploy an
observation mission for the May 2010 Parliamentary elections
in Ethiopia. Maya Tjernstrom, Second Secretary of Political
Affairs at Swedish Embassy in Addis Ababa, confirmed to
poloff on October 26 that the European Commission is
considering the precise configuration to give the observation
mission. Tjernstrom added that Ethiopia is a priority
country for election observation from the commission's
perspective. The EU plans to send an exploratory team in
December to lay the observation groundwork. EU embassies in
Addis Ababa report ongoing internal discussions with Brussels
in which the Addis-base missions generally push for a robust
elections observation mission.
MEECE