[JURIST] The chief observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission to Ethiopia 2005 (EU EOM) [official website] said Thursday that the country's May 15 parliamentary elections did not meet international voting standards. In the first EU report released since the vote, Ana Gomes said that intimidation tactics of witnesses and arrests of opposition members rose to the level of human rights abuses. After the elections, violence erupted as protestors claimed the voting process was fraudulent and human rights groups say that over 40 individuals were killed when security forces attempted to end the protests. The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) [official website] is reviewing the EU report and is expected to respond on Friday. Read the EU EOM's preliminary statement on the Assessment of the Electoral Process [text, PDF]. AP has more.

Previously on JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Election abuses lead to revote in 20 Ethiopian districts
• Ethiopia ending ban on election protests
• Ethiopian PM promises fair election investigation
• Ethiopia orders selected poll repeat due to fraud