ADDIS ABABA (IRIN) – Ethiopia will hold national elections for its federal parliament on 15 May 2005, officials told IRIN. Ten national and 57 regional parties will run in the polls, with results announced on 8 June 2005, officials from the National Election Board (NEB) said on Saturday.

Ethiopia’s Information Minister Bereket Simon said that the elections were likely to be fought on the issues of the economy and democratic reforms, adding that it would allow the electorate to vote on the government’s economic and development record.

“The most important issues in the 2005 elections are going to be economic progress, good governance and development,” he said. “The issue of conducting a free and fair election is going to be a priority for the government.”

International election observers have been invited into the country to monitor the polls, which were previously marred by serious irregularities. Some 38 million people are expected to vote at 35,000 polling stations in Ethiopia’s 547 constituencies, costing US $5.2 million.

Voting is a mammoth logistical exercise in the ethnically and linguistically diverse country. Ethiopia is over 1 million sq. km in size and less than half of the 70 million people can read or write.

“These will be very significant elections,” Mekonnen Wondimu, from the NEB, told IRIN. “We are a backward country so the issue of economic development will be crucial – how to develop this backward nation. On these issues the political parties differ.”

It is widely expected by analysts that the ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi will retain power. They currently control 479 seats in parliament since the 2000 elections. Elections are held every five years. Affiliated parties make up the majority of the remaining seats.

The EPRDF came to power after overthrowing former ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991 following nearly two decades of guerrilla war. Opposition groups have called for electoral reform ahead of the elections, saying polling is skewed in favour of the ruling party.

Lidetu Ayalew, general secretary of the Ethiopian Democratic Party, also called for access to the state-run media to stand a chance of defeating the incumbent government. But government spokesman Zemedkun Teckle insisted the authorities want to ensure “free and fair elections”.