Fifty political parties to run in Ethiopia’s 2010 election

By Tesfa Alem Tekle

January 16, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) — The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) said that 50 political parties including the ruling party are registered to take part in the upcoming national election.

The board said that every necessary preparation is finalized and political opponents will soon begin their campaigns.

In the capital, Addis Ababa, residents have elected public observers in 1,728 polling stations; five observers are elected in each constituency.

Furthermore, an agreement between the contesting parties is also reached on the allocation of Media airtime.

Accordingly, each political party contesting in the upcoming election will have its own airtime share based on the number of seats it has in parliament and also based on the numbers of candidates it filed in.

Ethiopia is due to hold the national elections in May this year, where over 20 million people are believed to cast their votes.

In 2005 post election violence in the Africa’s political capital have killed some 200 protesters.

Now, Ethiopian officials say that similar tragedy will not happen again. Country’s top officials including PM Meles Zenawi himself have repeatedly given their word to conduct a democratic, fair and peaceful election.

(ST)