Ethiopian opposition rejects final election results

ADDIS ABABA, Aug 9 (AFP) — One of Ethiopia’s two main opposition groups said on Tuesday it will challenge in court the official results from the disputed May elections which gave victory to the ruling party.

Beyene Petros, vice president of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), said the returns were flawed and the result of a conspiracy between the national election board and the ruling party to ignore opposition allegations of widespread fraud in the May 15 polls.

“We have tested the (election board), which has failed to do its job and now with all the evidence and witnesses we have, we are going to challenge the (board’s) official announcement of the winner and the result in the court,” he told AFP.

“Today’s announcement of the final result and the winner in the election proves our predication that the national election board will do its assignment to declare the ruling party as winner and nothing else,” Beyene said.

When combined with victories by allied parties, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) controls a total of 318 seats in the 547-member parliament and the opposition 174, according to the results released by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) Tuesday.

Ethiopia’s two main opposition groups, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), took 109 and 52 seats respectively in the May 15 polls, the board said.