Ethiopians revote in 6 Seats, some results suspended

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, June2, 2005 (AP) — Ethiopians cast ballots Thursday in new elections for six legislative seats after authorities found evidence of fraud and irregularities in the May 15 general polls, officials said.

The National Electoral Board has also suspended the release of results from five seats where it was investigating allegations of widespread vote rigging, said Mekonnen Wondimu, the board’s registrar of political parties.

Authorities might order new elections in other areas based on evidence presented by political parties that have lodged complaints, he said. Parties have until Friday to provide evidence of fraud or their complaints will be dismissed.

Parties contested 524 of the 547 seats in Ethiopia’s lower house of parliament. The remaining 23 seats will be contested in polls set for August in the Somali Region of eastern Ethiopia.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front has so far won 301 seats out of the 513 counted. Its allies garnered 21 seats, according to provisional results released by the electoral board.

Opposition parties are contesting the results of 235 seats. They have won 191 seats – a huge increase over the 12 they had in the last parliament.

Thursday’s revote won’t materially change the overall results.

Lawyers for the opposition are expected at the High Court Thursday to challenge Meles’ May 15 decree banning demonstrations and his move to put the capital’s police under his direct command.

They are also hoping to prevent the electoral board from releasing results for disputed seats.

Final results are to be released June 8, but the board has said that they may be delayed because of complaints it must investigate before ratifying the provisional results.