US embassy cable - 05ABUJA850

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 000850 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF, AF/E 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, ET, NI 
SUBJECT: CONTACTING OBASANJO ON ETHIOPIAN ELECTION 
 
REF: A. TUCKER-CAMPBELL E-MAIL 5/25/05 
     B. ABUJA 809 AND 651 
 
Classified By: Ambassador John Campbell for Reasons 1.4 (B & D). 
 
1.  (C) Upon receipt of Ref A e-mail containing State 93687, 
we began asking for a meeting with President Obasanjo to 
deliver the talking points therein on how the AU is treating 
the Ethiopian election.  Obasanjo is still in Paris on a 
four-day visit to France and is not expected to return to 
Nigeria until at least May 27, perhaps later if he goes to 
Addis Ababa for Darfur consultations.  We have made a formal 
request to the Foreign Ministry to see Obasanjo, but expect 
that would be granted no sooner than Saturday May 28 and more 
likely May 31 or later because May 29 and 30 are a Nigerian 
holiday. 
 
2.  (C) Given the time sensitivity of election action 
continuing to move forward in Ethiopia, it may be best for 
the Department (or Embassy Paris) to contact Obasanjo in 
Paris before his scheduled departure there in the morning of 
Friday May 27.  Post also advises that USG interlocutors 
discussing election problems anywhere in Africa with Obasanjo 
read Reftels B on his model for his and AU responses -- 
specifically that the AU (or in Togo's case ECOWAS) would 
judge an election to be democratic enough for AU standards 
and then press both the proclaimed winner(s) and loser(s) to 
form a national unity government. 
CAMPBELL