Ethiopian PM warns opposition against electoral process withdrawal

ADDIS ABABA, July 29 (AFP) — Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi warned the country’s opposition leaders on Friday against making good their threat to pull out of a panel investigating alleged fraud in the May 15 elections as well as boycotting parliament.

In the first-ever face-to-face meeting since the polls, Meles told leaders of the two main opposition parties that they would “face the consequences,” if the pull out from a panel investigating the alleged fraud, according to Tim Clarke, the head of the EU delegation here.

“The opposition were told by the prime minister that they have to make a choice in the coming days on whether they are in or out of the process and face the consequences,” added Clarke, who attending the meeting.

The envoy said the meeting was designed to “narrow their difference” after the election, in which the opposition claims Meles’s Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) rigged its way to victory.

So far, official results from 435 constituencies indicate that EPRDF and allied parties have 263, while Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and United Ethiopian Democratic Front (UEDF), two main opposition parties here, have 172.

The two parties have rejected the outcome, further accused the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) of favouring the ruling party, and even threatened to pullout from the panel as well as boycott parliament.

UEDF leader Beyen Petros, who attended the meeting, said the Horn of Africa nation has a long way to go.

“Indeed we have along way to go, the prime minister does not like our call for a re-run of the election or re-investigation as the first investigations have failed. We are still within the process we are not out of the process,” he said.

Earlier Friday, Clarke lauded NEBE for conducting investigations into the alleged fraud in a professional manner despite accusations that it favoured the ruling party.

Since the polls, the board has been investigating hundreds of complaints of fraud presented by the rival parties.

“(NEBE) is conducting the contested result investigation in a good manner and (with) professionalism under difficult circumstances,” Clarke told a press conference.

Clarke urged rival parties “to work in line with the country’s constitution.”

Clarke, who participated in one of the numerous electoral probes, warned that any attempts to overturn the process would plunge Ethiopia, a nation of about 70 million, into chaos.

“I myself participated in one investigation in one area to see how it worked. It was a fascinating and unique process as no other country in the world has gone through the same process like here,” he said.

“Attempts to turn the process will cause even more anxiety and tension and potentially could lead to crisis,” Clarke added.

He also warned against boycotting parliament because of the alleged fraud, which sparked demonstrations in the capital that resulted in the death of at least 36 people in June.

“Citizens of the country expect the politicians to resolve problems in a sensible and rational way rather than ending up in hostility,” Clarke added. “Parties concerned should find common language to solve the problems.”