Ethiopian opposition 'won't vote'
2008-04-10 10:36
Addis Ababa - Ethiopia's largest opposition group said on Thursday it would boycott this month's elections, claiming its candidates had faced intimidation and threats.
"We are getting out of the whole process. The whole process is an illegal process," Beyene Petros, leader of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces, a national coalition of opposition parties, said.
He said his group had some 6 000 candidates who had wanted to run.
Ethiopia will hold local, regional and some federal elections, on April 13 and 20, with some four million seats up for grabs.
Ethiopia, a key United States ally in the fight against al-Qaeda, had a long history of human rights abuses and flawed elections.
Government security forces killed 193 civilians protesting alleged fraud in the 2005 general elections, which the European Union said were flawed.
- AP