Ethiopian president urges all parties to accept election results
ADDIS ABABA, Aug 7, 2005 — Ethiopian President Girma Woldegiorgis said Sunday all parties that took part in the May 15 parliamentary election should honorably and sincerely accept the result of the election.
Girma said in a statement that political parties that participated in the election should accept the results in a bid to foster the democratic system that is flourishing in the country.
The president said the election was successfully conducted in a democratic manner, adding that the massive voter turnout has won wide international acclamation.
The government had done a wonderful job to ensure a democratic election in the Horn of Africa country, Girma said.
He called on all contesting parties to sincerely accept the election results and be part of the efforts to build up democracy and speed up development in the country.
He added all political parties are duty-bound to make the ongoing democratization efforts bear fruit.
He underlined that efforts have to be made on the part of all political parties as well as the public at large to ensure that the prevailing peace and security of the nation should not be hampered.
Last month, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia released official results for 128 federal parliament seats, bringing the total number of official results announced so far to 435.
Out of the 435 official results that have been declared for the House of People’s Representatives, the ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front has won 241 seats. The Coalition for Unity and Democracy and the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces, the country’s two major opposition parties, were in second and third places with 108 seats and 51 seats respectively.
Ethiopians went to poll on May 15 in the country’s two separate elections to elect representatives to the lower House of People’s Representatives and eight regional councils. Elections for the 23 constituencies of the Somali regional state will take place on Aug. 21.
(Xinhua)