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Protests banned in Ethiopia
16/05/2005 09:53 - (SA)
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| Ethiopians line up to cast their vote at a polling station in Addis Ababa during the third democratic elections in Ethiopia's 3000-year history. (Karel Prinsloo, AP) |
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Addis Ababa - Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi late on Sunday banned all public demonstrations in the capital and assumed direct control of the security forces after elections the opposition said were marred by widespread fraud.
Meles, widely thought to have won a third term in the polls, said he took the steps to ensure post-election stability despite huge voter turnout and praise from international observers who doubted the opposition charges.
Though Meles said the election was a success, he said the moves were necessary to counter "havoc" and "fear" created by opposition charges of abuses and a threat to reject the results.
No demonstrations of any sort will be allowed for a month, said Meles, speaking in Ethiopia's national language of Amharic.
Maintaining the peace
"As peace should be respected ... the government has decided to bring all the security forces, the police and the local militias, under one command accountable to the prime minister."
"There may be incidents of violence here and there but there is not going to be a 'Rose Revolution' or a 'Green Revolution' or any colour revolution in Ethiopia after the election," Meles said, referring to the 2003 popular revolt that ousted the former government of Georgia and current unrest in Central Asia.
Opposition party might reject results
It was not immediately clear if the opposition would carry through on its threat to reject the results of the election —the first official counts of which were not be released until Tuesday — or defy the ban on demonstrations.
However, Hailu Shawl, the chairman of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and a strong advocate for rejecting the election results, blasted Meles' for what he said was a heavy-handed attempt to curtail civil liberties.
"He is trying to stifle the feelings of the people," he said.
Claims of harassment, intimidation
The CUD, along with the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), has accused Meles' ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) of orchestrating a campaign to harass and intimidate the opposition and rig the vote.
The European Union (EU) and the US-based Carter Centre said they had been unable to verify claims of mass arrests of opposition activists and reported only minor, localised incidents.
Any of the 26 million registered voters in line at one of the more than 30 000 polling stations before the deadline will be allowed to vote, said a National Electoral Board spokesperson.
Meles, 50, who has run the country since the 1991 ouster of a Soviet-backed dictatorship, is hoping the vote will affirm the policies of his west-leaning centre-left policies and showcase Ethiopia's burgeoning democracy.
Voters were electing representatives for eight of nine state councils and 524 of the 547 seats in the federal parliament.
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