Ethiopia’s ruling party heads for landslide election win
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By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
May 27, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – The ruling Ethiopian People’s
Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) party is sweeping vote count
from Sunday’s parliamentary election.
JPEG - 27.6 kb
National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) Chairman Merga Bekana
announces preliminary results to the media in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Wednesday, May 27, 2015. (Photo AP/Mulugeta Ayene)
Partial results announced on Wednesday by the country’s National
Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) showed that prime minister
Hailemariam Desalegen led EPRDF party has so far won 442 seats out of
the 547-seat parliament.
According Preliminary results, the ruling party and its allied
regional political organizations are sweeping votes in all regions
across the nation.
At a news conference held Wednesday, NEBE chairperson Merga Bekana
confirmed EPRDF has won 80.8% of the total parliamentary seats
including 23 parliamentary seats from the capital, Addis Ababa.
Bekana said that the EPRDF, which is ruling the country since 1991,
has also won 79.4% (1,508) seats for the regional councils.
Over 90 % of the total registered 36.8 million people have cast their
votes on Sunday’s national elections; the country’s first since
Ethiopia’s long-time ruler Meles Zenawi, died in office in 2012.
Bekana has commended the people’s active participation during the
election which he said had witnessed huge turnout compared to previous
elections.
He said Ethiopians had “really committed themselves to the development
of democracy”
In the last vote in 2010, opposition parties won only a single seat in
the 547 seat parliament.
Supporters of the country’s two largest opposition parties (Blue Party
and Medrek) hope that the parties would secure seats this time however
officials of the electoral board haven’t yet announce if any.
“Regarding the remaining results, we have to wait. According to our
timetable we have time to gather, to collect and then publish it
according to our schedule,” Bekana said adding “but I cannot actually
tell you actually how many remaining seats will be occupied by
opposition or ruling party”.
Final election results will be announced on June 22.
The African Union (AU) observers’ mission said Ethiopia’s Sunday
general elections were “credible” and in line with African Union
standards.
“The Ethiopian Parliamentary elections were generally consistent with
the AU guidelines on the conduct of elections in Africa” former
Namibian president Hifikepunye Pohamba, in an initial report he issued
on Tuesday.
Approached by Sudan Tribune, some opposition members however said
there were some irregularities.
Opposition members claimed that there were some ballot boxes that went missing.
They also said ballot boxes were not openly shown to be empty before
voting begins.
(ST)
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