Ethiopia’s electoral board slams opposition accusations

By Tesfa-alem Tekle

April 12, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) — The Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE)slams Ethiopian Democratic Forces Union(EDFU’s) claims of election violations as fabricated and irresponsible.

In a statement it raised NEBE said EDFU has failed to provide a concrete proof for the violations it is saying it has faced.

“The group couldn’t provide neither the names of its candidates violated nor the place it occurred.”

“The question of prolonging Election Day came too late after five days remain for the election to go” NEBE said adding “this was an irresponsible and self-centered move which is too late to be considered.”

One of the major opposition parties, Ethiopian Democratic Forces Union (EDFU) on April 10 officially withdrew from running on the local and national by election to be held on Sunday

According to representatives of EDFU, the party is pulled out from running in election in protest to the national electoral board of Ethiopia (NEBE’S) ignorance to legally respond and take measures to the reservation the group raised.

According to EDFU, government agents have beaten jailed, intemidiated and restricted its candidates from campaigning at different parts of the nation at distrct levels.

Further more the party’s demand for wider media air time to campaign and the question of prolonging Election Day was ignored.

UEDF,a coalition of two major opposition groups, commands 50 seats in the 547-member Ethiopian parliament and had been planning to field about 20,000 candidates for various local-level posts.

(ST)