Ethiopia’s ruling party heads for landslide election win
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.
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)