Huge turnout in Ethiopian polls
2005-05-16 14:38
Addis Ababa - After a stunning turnout of 90% indicated voters were optimistic Ethiopia was headed toward greater democracy, officials were counting ballots in the parliamentary race on Monday.
Opposition politicians complained of irregularities and threatened to reject the results, leading the prime minister to ban demonstrations and put the capital's police under his direct command. But Sunday's vote had been peaceful and international observers - allowed to monitor voting here for the first time - reported no serious problems.
Only minor glitches
The election was conducted - in a generally smooth, efficient and peaceful manner - said Kemal Bedri, chairman of the National Electoral Board.
"This really was the most transparent elections we've ever had. We don't have any complaints," Kemal said.
The worst problem foreign election observers found on Sunday was the crowds, with some voters waiting hours to cast their ballots.
"In many places our poll watchers are being kicked out and we don't know who is counting the vote," said Berhanu Nega, vice chairman of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD).
On Monday, Berhanu said his poll observers reported the opposition had won at least 14 of the 23 parliamentary seats in Addis Ababa and seats in at least three other urban areas.
Provisional results are expected on Saturday and final results will be announced on June 8.
Possibly fearing action by opposition parties, Meles declared a ban on demonstrations and open meetings in Addis Ababa, effective Monday, and took over command of the capital's police. Opposition leader Berhanu charged the moves were an attempt to cover up voting fraud.
Ana Gomes, the top EU observer, was critical of an opposition call, made hours before polls closed, for results to be rejected.
"It is a bit difficult to understand why those who are also responsible for the success, want to discredit it so early," she said on Sunday.
Willing to accept defeat
Meles, the prime minister, on Sunday said his government would accept defeat if international observers said the opposition had won.
"I was very proud and fought to make sure the Ethiopian people have the right to make their own decisions. I am now exercising it as an Ethiopian and I'm very proud of this achievement," said Meles, a veteran of the rebellion that overthrew the dictatorship.
More than 500 foreign observers, including former US President Jimmy Carter and 24 teams from his human rights and development centre, were monitoring the polls.
Ethiopia was an absolute monarchy under Emperor Haile Selassie until the mid-1970s, when a brutal Marxist junta overthrew him.
Civil wars wracked the ethnically fractured country in the 1980s, and famine took as many as 1 million lives. Meles' rebel group overthrew the junta in 1991. Meles became president, then prime minister in 1995.
- AP