Ruling party wins in Ethiopia
2005-05-30 11:06
Addis Ababa - Ethiopia's ruling party has won a majority in the country's parliament, securing another five-year term, according to provisional results released by electoral officials on Monday.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front won 274 seats in the 547-seat parliament during the May 15 election, said a spokesperson for National Electoral Board, Getahun Amogne. Authorities have so far announced results for 463 of the parliament's seats and more results were expected this week.
Meles' political allies have already won another 15 seats — giving the ruling party a secure lock on power, the National Electoral Board said. Opposition parties have won 174 seats.
Final results are to be released June 8, but Getahun said on Friday they may be delayed because of hundreds of complaints and allegations of fraud filed by the candidates.
The provisional results are based on vote counting that took place at about 34 000 polling stations in the country. The final results will be released by the board after they investigate any complaints made about the vote tallies.
The main opposition party has lodged complaints in 139 of 524 constituencies, while the ruling party has raised concerns over irregularities in more than 50 seats. Political parties have until June 3 to provide evidence of fraud or their complaints will be dismissed.
New elections over irregularities
New elections have already been scheduled for 16 of the country's 34 000 polling stations because of irregularities.
"We cannot accept results in areas that are still contested," said Berhanu Nega, the vice chairperson of the largest opposition party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD).
"Our lawyers are already preparing our case," he said. "The evidence of abuse is simply overwhelming and there is no way the results can be announced in those seats."
The European Union said on Wednesday delays in releasing the results raised the prospect of fraud.
In a statement, EU observers said the trickle of results, competing claims of victory by the government and the opposition and the denial of access to the state-run media for government opponents was threatening the electoral process.
Civil wars wracked the ethnically fractured country in the 1980s, and famine claimed as many as one million lives. The current ruling group overthrew a brutal Marxist junta in 1991.
The May campaign and voting was lauded as the most open in Ethiopia's history, but questions about the count quickly surfaced.
- AP