The European Union criticised Ethiopia on Thursday for flaws in bitterly-contested elections that have given Prime Minister Meles Zenawi a second term.
In a report published in Addis Ababa, an EU election observer mission listed a catalogue of irregularities in the May 15 poll and the lengthy counting-process that followed, including unnecessary delays and intimidation of opponents.
In one case, a witness to opposition allegations of fraud, Wudu Amelegn, was assassinated days after testifying to a complaints investigation panel, the report said.
"Until 15 May when voting started, the picture was positive. After that day we had good and negative sides," EU chief observer Ana Gomes told reporters.
"In several important aspects, international standards for genuine democratic elections were not met." Unrest over alleged vote-rigging led to the police shooting dead at least 36 protesters and arresting thousands more in June.
After nearly three months of counting, preliminary results gave Meles outright victory on August 9. The opposition has refused to accept the results.
The EU report chided Ethiopia for flawed handling of complaints and re-runs of elections in some constituencies.
Some witnesses to alleged election fraud were unavailable because they were afraid, had been detained or - in Amelegn's case - "an important witness was killed", the report said.
"These practices taken as a whole are seriously undermining the transparency and fairness of the elections," the report said.
"The climate of threats and intimidation was maintained throughout the complaints investigation process."
Gomes said she was considering suing a state-run daily newspaper for defamation after it suggested she was favouring opposition parties.
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