Ethiopia set for election, gov’t warns against violence

May 23, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – As the horn of Africa country is preparing to conduct parliamentary elections, the Ethiopian government on Friday warned supporters of contesting parties against any act that could incite violence.

Ethiopians will go to polls on Sunday, the country’s fifth parliamentary election since the former dictatorial Marxist Derg regime was overthrown in 1991.

Nearly 37 million eligible electorates will cast their votes at over 45,000 polling stations nationwide.

The ruling Ethiopia People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has called on party supporters to maintain peace after casting votes.

The Ethiopian government repeatedly reiterated commitment to deliver in orderly manner a democratic, peaceful, free and fair election. But some opposition groups say that the election lacks a level playing field.

Addressing parliament on Thursday, EPRDF leader and prime minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, said his government will take actions against any individual or group who attempts to cause disturbances during the election days.

“There is no reason whatsoever for anybody to incite electoral violence in the current election,” Desalegn said.

“In the event of any election disturbances, the government is well prepared and stands unflinchingly determined to take measures” he added.

The premier also warned some opposition parties who he said are planning to incite violence in the pretext of vote rigging.

The African Union (AU) Election Observation Mission has also called on contesting political parties and supporters to exercise restraint so as the country remain peaceful and stable to conduct the polls.

Hifikepunye Pohamba, former Namibian president and head of the AU observers’ mission told reporters that four teams of long-term observers have been deployed in eight regional states.

Some 6,000 parliamentary candidates fielded by 58 political parties will contest for the 547 seat parliament.

All parliament seats had been occupied by the ruling party except two.

The Ruling EPRDF party has won all the four previous held elections and it is also widely expected to secure landslide victory this weekend.

Under the rule of EPRDF, Ethiopia has a continuously managed to register double-digit economic growth making the East African nation one of the 10 fastest growing economies worldwide.

Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country has also been relatively stability compared to other countries in the volatile Horn of Africa’s region.

However international human rights groups continuously accuse the Ethiopian government of gross human right violations including illegal detention against opposition members and journalists critical to government.

The Ethiopian government is accused of using the 2009 introduced anti-terrorism law as a pretext to silence dissent and punish members and leaders of opposition political parties.

The broadly defined counter terrorism law criminalizes any reporting considered to ‘encourage’ or ‘provide moral support’ to entities such as Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and Ginbot-7 labelled by government as terrorist organizations.

(ST)