The 10,11,and
13 June 2005 agreements, statements, of CUD With EPRDF and UEDF, and
retractions of CUD's statements
The 10 June 2005
joint declaration.
JOINT DECLARATION
BY
UEDF, CUD AND EPRDF ON THE
NEBE COMPLAINTS REVIEW AND
INVESTIGATION PROCESS
10 June 2005
1. The signatories of this
declaration:-
- re-affirm their
commitment to the successful and peaceful conclusion
of the electoral process,
in a manner that fully respects the wishes of the
people, the rule of law and
constitutional processes of the country
- re-assert their
condemnation of all acts of violence or incitement to
violence and agree to make
all possible efforts to prevent such violence or
incitement to violence, to
exercise restraint, and seek resolution of all issues
through legal and peaceful
means only.
- declare their commitment
to the decision-making procedures
established by the
Proclamation on Electoral law for deciding upon
complaints of election
irregularities and to abide by them.
- accept the legal
authority of the National Election Board of Ethiopia
and the courts in those
procedures and commit to abide by the decisions they
make on the basis of the
authority invested in them by the laws of the
country, and refrain from
all acts intended to subvert such decisions, without
prejudice to their
constitutional rights.
- recognize the positive
role being played by the Joint Political Party
Forum in resolving disputes
between the parties in a consensual manner and
in enhancing the
transparency of the process.
- note the decision of the
NEBE to review and investigate the 299
complaints of electoral
irregularities that have been submitted by political
parties.
- affirm the need for there
to be public confidence and transparency in
the decision making
procedures.
- express their wish to participate
in the review and investigation
process.
- urge international
observers to accept the NEBE's invitation to
observe the complaints and
results process.
2. As agreed in the meeting
of the Joint Political Party Forum of 30 May 2005,
the signatories of this
declaration are committed to participate fairly and
constructively in the
Complaints Investigation Panels to be established by
NEBE.
3. Noting the establishment
of an ad-hoc Complaints Review Body consisting of
legal experts appointed by
the NEBE, the signatories request of the NEBE
that they are able to
participate in hearings so as to provide clarification of
existing evidence and,
where appropriate to submit new evidence, prior to
the final recommendations
of the Complaints Review Body. Such a role is
intended to ensure that the
Complaints Review body makes its
recommendations with all
available information.
4. As the work of the
Complaint Review Body has already commenced, the
signatories call on the
NEBE to urgently and positively respond to these
requests.
On behalf of the
EPRDF
On behalf of the
UEDF
On behalf of the
CUD
====
June 11. CUD's
Poisition.
CUD POSITION
REGARDING THE JOINT UEDF, CUD AND
EPRDF
DECLARATION OF 10
JUNE 2005.
CUD through its
duly accredited representatives signed a Joint Declaration with
UEDF and EPRDF on
10 June 2005 at the Headquarters of the National Election
Board in Addis
Ababa in the presence of the diplomatic and international
community. In this
Declaration CUD unequivocally committed itself to the peaceful
resolution of the
election disputes which are the subject of the Declaration.
In signing the
Declaration, the CUD nowhere put any reservations or conditions or
equivocation to its
adherence to the spirit and letter of the Declaration. The
Declaration in fact
is a final and binding document on the signatories.
After having signed
the Declaration each signatory was given an opportunity to
state how it
intended to implement the Declaration. The CUD regrets any
misinterpretation
of its presentation at the signing ceremony and retracts any
elements of its
statement that may have given this impression. During the
presentation CUD
pointed out that the existence of a peaceful enabling environment
is a sine qua
non for
effective implementation of the Declaration. CUD pointed out
that harassment of
the leaders and functionaries of any of the signatories would
render it
impossible to implement the Declaration.
The CUD would like
to once more unequivocally and without reservations declare
that it accepts all
the provisions of the Declaration it signed on 10 June 2005. It
further undertakes
to implement forthwith the provisions of the agreement.
In a constructive
spirit of compromise and mutual respect, the CUD would like to
propose to its
joint signatories that in addition to the meeting due to take place on
Monday June 13th
under the auspices of the NEB to discuss the complaints and
appeals procedures,
a meeting should also take place as soon as possible to explore
how the commitments
entered into by all signatories, notably in respect of
commitments to
non-violence and incitements to violence, can be respected.
As a contribution
to this endeavor, the CUD would like to share with its signatories
on Monday 13th June
a specific proposal to address issues that we believe need to be
resolved to move
the process forward.
The CUD re-affirms
that it will do everything in is powers to support the nonviolent
transition of
society in Ethiopia to a society based upon respect for
individual human
rights and democratic values. The successful conclusion of the
present electoral
process, in conformity with the provisions of the Ethiopian
constitution and
accepted international standards, we believe, is a key element in
achieving this
goal.
Coalition for Unity
and Democracy
June 11, 2005
Addis Ababa
==
1.
The
signatories re-affirm their commitment to the joint public declaration they
made on 10 June.
2.
As a
signatory to the 10 June declaration, the CUD retracts its statements on 10
June that appeared to question or put pre-conditions to its commitment to the
joint declaration. The other signatoreis welcome this retraction.
3.
Having
received draft terms of reference for the operation of the NEBE complaints
review procedures, the signatories commit themselves to consider and agree to
these terms of reference as soon as possible.
4.
The
signatories confirm that they stand ready to implement their 10 June declaration
in an open, constructive, inclusive and consensual manner. The signatories
agree to discuss the precise modalities for implementing their joint
declaration in a conducive environment.
Signed by CUD,
UEDF,EPRDF==========================
5.
================================================================