Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The elections in Ethiopia on 23 May represent an important step in the country's democratic development. Opposition parties are contesting the elections throughout the country and 30 million Ethiopians have registered to vote. However, the violent aftermath of the last elections in 2005 left a disappointing and difficult legacy. We are following developments closely and Irish observers are participating in the European Union elections observation mission.

In February, the European Commission sought nominations from member states for experienced election observers to participate in the European Union election observation mission in Ethiopia. It is Government policy to consider such requests positively. Since 2004, more than 500 Irish election observers have participated in more than 80 election observation missions.

In response to the Commission's request, we nominated six long-term observers and seven short-term observers for the current mission in Ethiopia. Of these nominations, the European Commission selected six observers, three of whom are long-term observers and are based in Ethiopia from 23 April to 3 June. Three are short-term observers based in the country from 14 to 29 May. All of the Irish observers are highly experienced.

The EU observation mission consists of 90 long-term observers and 60 short-term observers drawn from all the member states. I am confident the Irish observers will play an important role in the mission and will make a positive contribution to the development of democratic accountability in Ethiopia.

Despite some notable achievements in poverty reduction, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world. It has a large and growing population dependent on subsistence farming. Many people remain unable to provide enough food for themselves. Vulnerability to food supply shocks is acute and last year 6 million people required emergency food assistance. This is the context in which Ethiopia will hold its fourth parliamentary and regional elections.

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