Further, the challenges of international travel to Ethiopia during the pandemic (as well as the security situation) increases the barriers for international observers and heightens the already critical role of citizen observers safeguarding the process and providing independent non-partial information on the conduct of the elections. [...] At the global level, these include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. [...] The regional instruments applicable to Ethiopia include the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. [...] Shortcomings in public communication of the voter registration figures and an apparently sudden surge in the number of registered voters, which according to the NEBE exceeded 20 million by April 23, gave rise to concerns about the integrity of the process among some of the interlocutors who spoke to the delegation. [...] In light of the above and the boycott of the elections by some opposition parties, several interlocutors expressed concerns about the competitiveness of the elections in some constituencies, and more broadly, whether voters would turnout to vote given the more limited choice or absence of their preferred options on the ballot.
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- United States of America