Ethiopia’s electoral board urges opposition to desist from defamation
ADDIS ABABA, June 2, 2005 (Xinhua) — The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) urged opposition parties on Thursday to desist from spreading defamatory allegations against the board and engaging in activities that would adversely affect the electoral process.
NEBE said in a statement that some opposition parties, particularly the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), are engaged in tarnishing the image of the board while they could lodge their resentments in a legal and peaceful manner.
The board said it is being forced to legally counter the destructive campaigns unleashed against it as well as the overall electoral process by some opposition parties in a manner that contravenes the code of conduct signed by all contesting political parties.
NEBE is responsible for the administration, conduct and supervision of all elections in Ethiopia’s federal and state constituencies. It is scheduled to announce the final official results of the May 15 parliamentary elections on June 8.
The statement said the board has summoned all parties who alleged to have encountered problems in the course of balloting or vote counting to lodge their complaints, and it was investigating such complaints.
The process of investigation will start soon after the board identifies cases that deserve investigation, the statement said, adding it would also swiftly decide based on the report to be submitted to it by the investigating committees.
The statement also said that as most of the complaints lodged by parties are generalized, unclear and not supported by substantive evidences, it has given sufficient time for the parties to present their evidences.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s preliminary results showed the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) consolidated a clear majority in the 547-seat lower House of People’s Representatives.
According to returns from 514 constituencies, the ruling EPRDF party, led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, won 302 seats in the May 15 legislative elections, down from 481 in the last lower house of federal parliament, but well above the absolute majority of 274.
CUD and UEDF, the country’s two main opposition groups, were in second and third places with 121 and 55 seats respectively. They held 12 seats in the last lower house of federal parliament.
Electoral officials said that preliminary results of 10 of the 524 constituencies, where polling had taken place, have not yet been reported to the board.
Ethiopians went to poll on May 15 in the country’s two separate elections to elect representatives to the House of People’s Representatives and eight regional councils. Elections in southeastern Somali state will take place in August.
Ethiopia has a two-house parliament: the 110-seat upper House of the Federation and the 547-seat lower House of People’s Representatives.