Ethiopian opposition groups call for unity government
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Aug 11, 2005 (AP) — Ethiopia’s main opposition groups said Thursday that the country needs a national unity government to avert protests over parliamentary election results that show the ruling coalition party has won enough seats to form a government.
On Tuesday, the National Electoral Board said that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front won 296 seats in the 547-member body, and its allied parties won 22 seats, results that the opposition disputed, saying it may challenge them in court.
Those results were announced following weeks of investigations into allegations of vote rigging in May parliamentary elections.
A national unity government will work for a limited term to form an independent election body and hold fresh elections, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy and the United Ethiopian Democratic Front said in a joint statement to journalists.
Both parties said that if the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front formed the government even though there were still disputes over the results, such an action could lead to protests in different parts of the country.
“The anger generated by such a decision could push the current stalemate into an open confrontation as the public and opposition seeks redress through demonstrations and other peaceful means to make it difficult for the government to rule,” the statement said. “The possibility of a violent confrontation under these circumstances is real both in urban and rural areas.”
Donors and Ethiopian non-governmental organizations should host a conference to form such a national unity government, the opposition parties said.
On Tuesday, the National Electoral Board said that the largest opposition group, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, won 109 seats; another opposition group, the United Ethiopian Democratic Front, won 52 seats; and other parties won 13 seats.
It said that it will rerun the elections in 31 seats and hold a by-election in one seat on Aug. 21. On the same day, elections for 23 constituencies will be held in the eastern region of Somali. Heavy rains had made it difficult to hold election in Somali when the rest of the country voted.
Results from those polls will be released on Sept. 5.
The May vote was followed by a number of complaints of electoral fraud and discrepancies by both the ruling party and opposition groups, which led to protests last month in the capital, Addis Ababa.
Police fired on demonstrators, killing at least 36.
The elections were seen as a key test of Meles’ commitment to greater democratic reform in the country he has ruled for 14 years.
Britain froze GBP20 million in aid earmarked for Ethiopia after the demonstrators were gunned down. Both the United States and the European Union have called on the government to respect human rights, and urged an independent inquiry into the killings.