The European parliament observers' team leader said Friday the third national elections in Ethiopia is better than the previous two and moving on the right track.

After holding talks with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, leader of the team, Anders Wijkman, told journalists that the contesting parties have held free political debates in this third national elections.

He said the fact that the numerous debates among contesting parties were broadcast live by radio and television has made the current elections better than the previous two elections.

Wijkman said the third national elections due to be concluded on Sunday has seen great improvements and changes as compared to the previous ones.

Observers of the parliament arrived here on Thursday and would head to various parts of the country on Saturday to observe the polling process, said the team leader.

According to the team leader, the fact that European parliament observers are here to monitor the election would enable them to closely follow the process and judge whether it would be held freely or not and it would also influence the electoral process.

Meles told the observers the government has made the necessary preparations to hold the third national elections in a free, fair and democratic way.

Around 26.5 million people are expected to cast their ballots on Sunday in the country's more than 38,000 polling stations.

Prime Minister Meles-led EPRDF is widely expected to win a third five-year term in the country, but observers say the ruling party's parliamentary majority may dwindle under challenges from opposition candidates. The EPRDF currently holds 481 of the 547 seats in parliament.

Ethiopia holds national polls every five years.