The European Union mission said Tuesday that the weekend vote had been peaceful, but there were inequalities that favored the ruling party leading up to the election.
Thijs Berman, the EU’s chief observer, said they had received a number of complaints of violence and harassment.
“The sheer volume and consistency of these complaints is a matter of concern,” Berman told journalists. “These shortcomings lead us to the conclusion that this electoral process falls short of certain international commitments.”
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch also had criticized Sunday’s vote, saying voters were told they could lose food assistance, public-sector jobs, loans and educational opportunities if they voted against the ruling party.
Ethiopian election officials said they witnessed no irregularities, and government spokesman Bereket Simon said the election was free and fair.
“It is sad to hear that while the election officials have said Ethiopians voted in a democratic way, Human Rights Watch, which has nothing to do with the election observation, is declaring our election fraudulent,” he said. “The people of Ethiopia have voted, and no one is going to take their vote away from them.”
An announcer at Tuesday’s rally read out slogans from signs held up by government supporters criticizing foreign rights groups. Some of the signs read: “We chose our leaders, accept the results” and “Stop second guessing us.”
The rally was called as provisional returns showed a victory for the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front and its allies. Final results will be announced in late June, officials have said.
Top opposition leader Hailu Shawel said the election results were not fair.
“The vote is 100 percent controlled by the ruling party,” Hailu said.
He also said that he suspected many of people who attended the rally were paid to do so and did not necessarily support the ruling party and its allies.
Sunday’s vote had been closely watched by international observers after the contentious 2005 election, in which the opposition won an unprecedented number of parliamentary seats only to endure police crackdowns and the killing of 193 demonstrators after the votes were counted.
The election board chairman said the ruling party had won 20 of the capital’s 23 parliamentary seats in Sunday’s vote, with only two left to report results in Addis Ababa. There are 546 assembly seats in all.
Analysts had predicted an easy win for the ruling party, led by Meles, a U.S. ally now poised to get five more years of power after he seized control in a 1991 coup.
Since the violent elections in 2005, the opposition and some analysts say the government has systematically stifled the competition, while limiting the media and restricting aid groups from working on human rights issues.
Ethiopia is frequently criticized for its human rights record, including by the U.S. State Department, which in a March report cited reports of “unlawful killings, torture, beating, abuse and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, often acting with evident impunity.”
Still, the U.S. considers Ethiopia an ally and provides billions of dollars in foreign aid. Both countries want to curb Islamist extremism in Somalia, Ethiopia’s unstable neighbor to the east. (AP)
ADDIS ABABA (Xinhua) — The Ethiopian ruling party junta has gained 499 seats in the 547-member parliament, media reported on Tuesday.
The report quoted the Ethiopian National Electoral Board as saying the outcome emerged when 536 results were announced.
Earlier on Tuesday, the National Electoral Board has announced that the ruling party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) Woyanne, is leading the fourth national elections by winning 477 of the 547 federal parliamentary seats.
Public Relations Head with the Board, Mohammed Abdurahman, said in a statement on Tuesday that the EPRDF won 38 seats in Tigray, 137 in Amhara, 160 in Oromia and eight seats in Afar states, according to the provisional election results.
Hundreds of thousands of members and supporters of the EPRDF on Tuesday celebrated party’s victory after announcement of provisional election results by the National Electoral Board.
Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s current Prime Minister and Chairperson of EPRDF, accompanied by senior government officials, joined the huge crowd at Maskal Square, the grand one in Addis Ababa, capital of the nation.
Ethiopia’s ruling party junta called a rally in the capital Tuesday to celebrate its victory theft in national elections, but a U.S. rights group claimed the weekend ballot was corrupted by irregularities.
Hundreds of blue-uniformed federal police death squads stood guard as supporters of the ruling party gathered in the city’s central parade grounds. Workers had constructed a platform overlooking the grounds, and were installing a glass box _ possibly made of bulletproof glass for an important person. It was not known whether Prime Minister genocidal dictator Meles Zenawi would speak at the rally.
The European Union mission said it would release a report on the election Tuesday. The EU mission said it that, while Sunday’s vote had been peaceful, it had received reports of irregularities, both of a technical nature and from opposition candidates.
At the rally, an announcer read out slogans from signs held up by government supporters criticizing foreign rights groups that had questioned the election’s validity. Some of the signs read: “We chose our leaders, accept the results” and “Stop second guessing us.”
The rally was called as provisional returns showed a victory for the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front and its allies. The tallies showed the EPRDF and its allies ahead in the nine regions that have reported results, out of a total of 11.
“As far as the provisional result is concerned, the EPRDF has winned,” board chairman Merga Bekana said Monday.
Final results will be announced in late June, officials have said.
Sunday’s vote had been closely watched by international observers after the contentious 2005 election, in which the opposition won an unprecedented number of parliamentary seats only to endure police crackdowns and the killing of 193 demonstrators after the votes were counted.
Neither opposition leaders nor ruling party officials could be reached immediately for comment on the results announced Monday. The opposition had complained previously of vote-rigging and intimidation on election day.
The election board chairman also said the ruling party had won 20 of the capital’s 23 parliamentary seats, with only two left to report results in Addis Ababa. There are 546 assembly seats in all.
New York-based Human Rights Watch criticized Sunday’s vote as corrupted by pre-election irregularities, including telling voters they could lose food assistance, public-sector jobs, loans and educational opportunities if they voted against the ruling party.
“Behind an orderly facade, the government pressured, intimidated and threatened Ethiopian voters,” said Rona Peligal, acting Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Whatever the results, the most salient feature of this election was the months of repression preceding it.”
Merga read out the results in English, barely pausing as he rattled off party acronyms and large figures, in a televised news conference.
“The process is very transparent, free, fair and peaceful,” he said, noting the results were also available on the election board’s website. Few people in Ethiopia have computers or TV sets.
Ethiopian election officials said they witnessed no irregularities, and government spokesman Bereket Simon said the election was free and fair.
“It is sad to hear that while the election officials have said Ethiopians voted in a democratic way, Human Rights Watch, which has nothing to do with the election observation, is declaring our election fraudulent,” he said. “The people of Ethiopia have voted, and no one is going to take their vote away from them.”
Merga refused to say how many votes the ruling party received across the board, but an Associated Press calculation shows the ruling party won at least 6.7 million votes in the nine regions reporting. Merga said more than 90 percent of the 32 million registered voters _ some 29 million people _ cast ballots nationwide.
Analysts had predicted an easy win for the ruling party, led by Meles, a U.S. ally now poised to get five more years of power after he seized control in a 1991 coup.
Since the violent elections in 2005, the opposition and some analysts say the government has systematically stifled the competition while limiting the media and restricting aid groups from working on human rights issues.
Ethiopia is frequently criticized for its human rights record, including by the U.S. State Department, which in a March report cited reports of “unlawful killings, torture, beating, abuse and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, often acting with evident impunity.”
Still, the U.S. considers Ethiopia an ally and provides billions of dollars in foreign aid. Both countries want to curb Islamist extremism in Somalia, Ethiopia’s unstable neighbor to the east.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia’s election board says provisional results show the ruling party has won the national vote.
Board chairman Merga Bekana says the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front and its allies have won in the nine regions that have reported results out of a total of 11.
He says the party also is ahead for 20 of the capital’s 23 parliamentary seats, with only two left to report results in Addis Ababa. There are 546 assembly seats in all.
New York-based Human Rights Watch had criticized Sunday’s vote as corrupted by pre-election irregularities, including telling voters they could lose food assistance, public-sector jobs, loans and educational opportunities if they voted against the ruling party.
* * *
ADDIS ABABA (VOA) — Early reports suggest Ethiopia’s ruling party has won a massive victory in Sunday’s parliament elections. Almost every major opposition leader appears to have been defeated.
The headquarters of Ethiopia’s main opposition party was like a funeral parlor as observers reported in from around the country, opposition leaders were dumbstruck at the possibility of a nearly complete rout.
High-profile leaders such as former president Negasso Gidada, senior figures in the parliamentary opposition Merera Gudina and Beyene Petros, all appear headed for defeat.
Other prominent political leaders, including Hailu Shewal and Lidetu Ayalew were also said to have conceded.
In Addis Ababa, opposition parties won all 23 seats in parliament five years ago, but this time it looks as if they have been wiped out.
Sitting in a quiet back office of jailed opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa’s Unity for Justice and Democracy party headquarters, parliamentary leader Temesgen Zewdie was devastated by the early results.
“It is a total surprise, a total shock, and we are sure investigating as to what went wrong for us to perform this poorly,” said Temesgen Zewdie.
Temesgen said an opposition divided into many blocs made it easy for Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front in ‘first past the post’ contests.
“Medrek in Addis and the regions, in the preliminary showing, is second to EPRDF, and had this been proportional representation, we probably would have shared some seats with the ruling party, but since this is winner take all system, we are at a disadvantage,” said Temesgen.
In the yard outside party headquarters, scores of young opposition supporters milled around, obviously upset. Nineteen-year-old Achame Lazarus, who had served as a Medrek poll watcher Sunday, said the election had been stolen.
“We are practicing false democracy in Ethiopia, the principles are being told by our government officials, but as you can see from the ground level, things are going not on the right track,” said Achame Lazarus.
Medrek senior leader and former Ethiopian president Negasso Gidada said the job of party elders is to cool down their disenchanted supporters to avoid a repeat of the violence that followed the disputed 2005 election.
“Maybe some of them are angry, but we will cool them, we will register the facts, what happened in the process, tell them what happened, and after telling them, we will tell them, be cool, we are a peaceful party, and when there are cases that have to go to the election board, and if it is not solved there we will go to the court,” said Negasso Gidada.
The first word from election officials is the elections had gone smoothly and peacefully. National Electoral Board spokesman Mohamed Abdurahman said there had been no reports of cheating.
“The board has received no single complaint formally, including the opposition parties, the public, the ruling party, they all said it was peaceful, calm and free,” said Mohamed Abdurahman.
Ruling party officials were cautious in declaring victory. Government Communications Minister Bereket Simon would only say it appeared as if the EPRDF had won comfortably. Party spokesman Hailemariam Dessalegn said he was standing by earlier predictions of turnout possibly exceeding 90 percent.
The European Union and African Union deployed a total of nearly 250 observers spread out across the country to monitor activities at 43,000 precincts. EU Chief Observer Thijs Berman has scheduled a news conference Tuesday to deliver a preliminary verdict on the fairness of the vote.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — An international human rights group said Monday that Ethiopia’s national election was marred by repression and intimidation, while the government said the vote was free and fair.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said Sunday’s parliamentary vote was corrupted by pre-election irregularities that included telling voters they could lose food assistance, public-sector jobs, loans, and educational opportunities if they voted against the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front.
“Behind an orderly facade, the government pressured, intimidated and threatened Ethiopian voters,” said Rona Peligal, acting Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Whatever the results, the most salient feature of this election was the months of repression preceding it.”
European Union observers said Sunday’s vote was peaceful and that more than 70 percent of the 32 million registered voters took to the polls. Ethiopian election officials said they witnessed no irregularities, but opposition officials complained of vote-rigging and intimidation on election day.
Government spokesman Bereket Simon said the election was free and fair.
“It is sad to hear that while the election officials have said Ethiopians voted in a democratic way, Human Rights Watch, which has nothing to do with the election observation, is declaring our election fraudulent,” he said. “But the good thing is the people of Ethiopia have voted and no one is going to take their vote away from them.”
Election officials said they would release provisional results as early as late Monday, and final results in late June.
Analysts have predicted an easy win for the ruling party led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, a U.S. ally now poised to enter a second decade of power after he seized control of the Horn of Africa country in a 1991 coup.
EU observers said Sunday that they received reports of irregularities, both of a technical nature and from candidates and opposition groups. They said they will release a report Tuesday with details of the irregularities that were reported to them.
Sunday’s vote was closely watched by international observers after a contentious 2005 election.
That year, a then-energetic opposition won an unprecedented number of parliamentary seats in this country of 85 million, only to endure police crackdowns and the killing of 193 demonstrators after the votes were counted.
Since 2005, the opposition and some analysts say the government has systematically stifled the competition, and ensured an uneventful election by enacting restrictive laws that restrict aid groups from working on human rights issues and hinder the media.
While the ruling party and election officials have said the election would be free and fair, Ethiopia is frequently criticized for its human rights record, including by the U.S. State Department, which in a March report cited reports of “unlawful killings, torture, beating, abuse and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, often acting with evident impunity.”
Still, the U.S. considers Ethiopia an ally. Both countries want to curb Islamist extremism in Somalia, Ethiopia’s unstable neighbor to the east. Ethiopia is reliant on billions of dollars of foreign aid, most of it from the U.S.
MOJO, ETHIOPIA — Soon after polling stations opened at 6am dozens of voters queued patiently in the morning light outside a school administration building in the crossroads town of Mojo, central Ethiopia.
Here and elsewhere in Africa’s second most populous country yesterday’s election got off to a calm and well-organised start, but opposition groups were quick to allege intimidation and irregularities.
In Mojo officers given the task of explaining the voting process to the people as they arrived at polling stations informed voters that all but one of the town’s candidates for the national parliamentary elections had withdrawn at the last minute.
“The only party is the Oromo People’s Democratic Organisation,” Bekele Gurmu, the officer in charge of one station, said. OPDO is part of the Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition, in power since 1991.
After listening to the announcement Hailu Gemechu, 45, a finance manager, was suspicious. “I don’t think the briefing is true; it could be cheating,” he said. Opposition leaders alleged that similar incidents were being reported elsewhere.
Negasso Gidada, a former president of Ethiopia and a member of Medrek, the opposition coalition, said: “I am hearing that electoral officials are telling voters that I have withdrawn from the election, that my party has withdrawn from the election.”
Mr Negasso insisted that his party’s candidate in Mojo had not pulled out. “It looks as if the EPRDF is rigging this election,” he said. Within hours of the poll beginning, Medrek, which is fielding 421 candidates for the 547-member parliament, said that it may reject the result.
Officials from the national electoral board did not answer calls but a ruling party spokesman denied that the EPRDF was trying to cheat to win the election. “If they reject the result before it’s declared, it means they know they have lost it squarely,” said Simon Bereket, a government spokesman.
At the last national poll in 2005 opposition supporters took to the streets to protest against what they said was a stolen election, and 193 protesters and seven policemen died in the ensuing violence. A crackdown followed in which opposition politicians, their supporters and journalists, were locked up.
Mr Meles’s Government has denied charges that it is growing more autocratic, stifles dissent and intimidates opponents. Final results are not expected until next month but electoral officials say that preliminary figures may be available as early as tomorrow. Mr Meles is widely expected to win a large majority of the 32 million votes.
Thijs Berman, the EU’s chief observer, said they had received a number of complaints of violence and harassment.