Karl Wycoff, US deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs; Robert Hellyer, USAID director for East Africa; and Jordan Winkler, Financial Economist from the State Department's Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs, visited Ethiopia from March 2 to 4, 2010, and held talks with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tekeda Alemu, and other officials on topics that included the 2010 election, governance and economic issues.
"The fundamental issues that were discussed were the election process and the code of conduct," Michael Gonzalez, spokesman and information officer at the US Embassy, told Fortune.
They stressed that there must be non-violence associated with these elections as there was in 2005.
The US representatives underscored that free, fair, credible and peaceful Ethiopian elections depended on inter party dialogue, an effective and independent electoral complaints mechanism, credible administration of the conclusion of the candidate registration process, assiduous implementation of the code of conduct by political parties and Ethiopian governmental institutions, a permissive operating environment for independent observers, non-partisan election reporting, and equitable access to media, according to a press statement from the United States Embassy.
"The discussion was mainly held with the Ethiopian government, however some members of the opposition parties have also discussed with the delegation," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez would not say which opposition parties had met with the US delegation.
The incumbent must take its responsibilities seriously by creating an environment in which all parties feel confident in fully expressing their opinions and implementing their electoral strategies, Wycoff expressed as the US view. The US delegation also emphasised the importance of the opposition conducting their political activities and campaigns in a responsible and positive manner.
"I believe that the discussion was a fruitful one in terms of understanding the basic and substantive points that were raised during the meetings," Gonzalez said.
The US also welcomed the passing of the code of conduct implementing legislation and the release of nearly two hundred prisoners detained in connection with the 2005 elections and its aftermath.
However, credible reports of harassment and arrest of opposition supporters and candidates require strict and transparent implementation and enforcement of the code, according to a press statement from the US embassy.
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