Strong choices for the oppostion

Prof. Nebiy Ezkiel: Aug 1, 2005

The second step that the Opposition Parties should take is to make all the decisions of the so called the "NEBE" null and void, since it is nothing but the stooge of Meles Zenawi himself. In his interview of hard talk with the BBC after the May 15, 2005, election, Meles Zenawi himself admitted the fact that all the members of the NEBE were picked up by himself alone. This unequivocally proves the fact that the NEBE is not a neutral entity but a stooge of the TPLF/EPRDF. Hence, the Opposition Parties should discard it as null and void.

To make a breakthrough to the impasse that was created as a result of the election fraud, the Opposition Parties should make an urgent call to the Ethiopian peoples, to the International Communities, to the American Congress, to the European Union, to the UN, to the African Union, and to the TPLF/EPRDF itself, to immediately create a neutral Electoral Board that is composed of five people from the CUD, five people from the UEDF, and five people from the TPLF/EPRDF.

After creating a neutral Electoral Board, the Opposition Parties should call for a re-election in the 299 contested election regions by inviting the 5000 International Observers to monitor them. For each election station, ten people from CUD, ten people from UEDF, and ten people from TPLF/EPRDF shoud be elected to observe the election with the 5000 International Observers. No cadres of the TPLF/EPRDF should be allowed in those election regions. No militias or military men should be allowed in those election stations. Only five police men should be allowed for each election station just to monitor the peace and security of the area.

After the people re-vote in those 299 contested regions, and after the newly created neutral Electoral Board announces the true result, all the Parties should accept the verdict of the people and abide by it. Before this re-election takes place, the Opposition Parties should be allowed to have an unlimited access to the mass media, such as, the Ethiopian TV, the Ethiopian National radio, news papers, etc., to explain very well to the Ethiopian peoples why they wanted to create a neutral Electoral Board to make the re-election in those 299 contested regions.

If the TPLF/EPRDF rejects this peaceful initiative of the Opposition Parties, then the Opposition Parties don't have any choice but to call on the Ethiopian peoples for a Civil Disobedience to remove the terrorist regime of the TPLF/EPRDF from power through a peaceful struggle.