ethiopointz
Unease over extent of ruling party's landslide in Ethiopia
Xan Rice in Nairobi
Wed 26 May 2010
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front secures 499 out of 547 seats, with allied parties winning a further 35
Ethiopia's ruling party and its allies won 99.6% of parliamentary seats in Sunday's election, according to preliminary results, raising serious questions over the country's democratic direction.
The Ethiopian national electoral board announced today that the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) – the party of the prime minister, Meles Zenawi – had secured 499 out of the 547 seats, with allied parties winning a further 35.
Opposition candidates won just two seats. Results from 11 constituencies are still outstanding.
The result is a significant reversal of the 2005 poll, when the opposition made large gains despite questions over the fairness of the vote.
The subsequent imprisonment or exile of opposition leaders, coupled with a curb on basic freedoms, meant Sunday's triumph for the ruling party, though not its scale, had been expected.
The victory means Meles will have been in power in Africa's second-most populous country for almost 25 years by the time of the next election.
Addressing a crowd of tens of thousands from behind a bulletproof screen in the capital, Addis Ababa, he warned that opposition protests of the sort that saw 200 people killed – mostly by security forces – after the 2005 election would not be tolerated.
Meles
zehabesha.com/unease-over-extent-of-ruling-partys-landsli...
Unease over extent of ruling party's landslide in Ethiopia
Xan Rice in Nairobi
Wed 26 May 2010
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front secures 499 out of 547 seats, with allied parties winning a further 35
Ethiopia's ruling party and its allies won 99.6% of parliamentary seats in Sunday's election, according to preliminary results, raising serious questions over the country's democratic direction.
The Ethiopian national electoral board announced today that the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) – the party of the prime minister, Meles Zenawi – had secured 499 out of the 547 seats, with allied parties winning a further 35.
Opposition candidates won just two seats. Results from 11 constituencies are still outstanding.
The result is a significant reversal of the 2005 poll, when the opposition made large gains despite questions over the fairness of the vote.
The subsequent imprisonment or exile of opposition leaders, coupled with a curb on basic freedoms, meant Sunday's triumph for the ruling party, though not its scale, had been expected.
The victory means Meles will have been in power in Africa's second-most populous country for almost 25 years by the time of the next election.
Addressing a crowd of tens of thousands from behind a bulletproof screen in the capital, Addis Ababa, he warned that opposition protests of the sort that saw 200 people killed – mostly by security forces – after the 2005 election would not be tolerated.
Meles
zehabesha.com/unease-over-extent-of-ruling-partys-landsli...