The Associated Press — Sunday, April 20, 2008-ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: Ethiopians chose local representatives Sunday in nationwide elections marred by a boycott by the two largest opposition parties and criticized by a prominent international human rights group.
Government officials in the key U.S. ally touted the polls as a sign of Ethiopia’s commitment to democracy after the bloody aftermath of the 2005 general elections, but opposition parties said a systematic campaign of beatings, arrests and intimidation forced out more than 17,000 of their candidates.
Sunday was the second round of an election in which 4.5 million candidates are competing for 4 million seats, most of them in neighborhood councils. The voting in the first round a week earlier also included 38 seats in the federal parliament.
The ruling party has fielded a candidate for nearly every seat. Opposition politicians say it will be very difficult to campaign in the countryside in 2010’s general elections if the ruling party has a tight hold on rural Ethiopia.
During the last general elections, in 2005, police killed 193 protesters after election officials declared victory for the ruling party. Opposition leaders refused to take their seats in parliament, and more than 100 prominent opposition politicians were jailed, charged with treason and held for nearly two years. The events earned the censure of several international organizations and even prompted some, such as the World Bank, to restructure their aid packages to give less control to the Ethiopian government.
Throughout, the United States has remained a steadfast supporter of the East African military powerhouse, considered a key ally in the war on terror. Ethiopia also allows foreign terror suspects to be interrogated within its borders.
This year, the once-robust opposition bloc withered, as allegations surfaced of ballot-rigging, inflation of voting figures and intimidation of opposition candidates and voters.
“Our hopes and aspirations for democracy have been dashed,” said Bulcha Demeksa, head of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement. He was speaking last week as he announced his party would boycott the second round of voting.
On Sunday, turnout appeared subdued at polling stations in the capital, despite earlier pronouncements by electoral officials that more than 90 percent of city-dwellers had voted in the first round of elections. An election official said several women voted hours after giving birth and state-run media outlets reported several new widows left their husbands’ funerals early to vote.
But in polling centers in the city, voters trickled in by ones and twos. Many of them wore palm leaf headdresses in celebration of Palm Sunday, which fell on April 20 by the Ethiopian calendar.
Government officials said results will be available by May 19.
April 20th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
hahahahahahh
Mr Bulcha party along with Dr Merarra’s has put the pig woyanes under fire. They are now under the watchful eyes of in international media for the wrong reasons. I am afraid killer zenawi might jail them by fabricating lies through his laughable kangaroo court.
I think Hon. Bulcha and Merara deserve credit for undressing the crimes of the notorious woyane.
April 21st, 2008 at 3:33 am
evil
The oppositions left the mach in the middle of the game..They knew it that people goung to vote for EPRDF….
Viva EPRDF
April 21st, 2008 at 3:34 am
GOING*
April 21st, 2008 at 5:25 am
uyu…what ever is ur name
One what in the hell are u doing in this room, go find another room where u can spew ur HATEFUL TIGRAY LIES???
Two there is no political party in ethiopia called EPRDF, the political party that is misruling, looting and dictating ethiopia is called TPLF, which is dominated by evil tigray and eritrean sell outs.
Three Please read the recent article by PROFESSOR SHEWAKENA, if u really can read.
Four pls dont come back!!!
April 21st, 2008 at 8:44 am
OH ..the fack election was done by the fack government with the help of fack campainers that can end up to the fack results. But how a so called tplf governemnt that calls him self a government says there was an election while the only runner was tplf? In order to call election there must be atleast one or more opponents, while the so called illigitimate fack government led by shabia agents meles and sebhat with the help of some BANDA HODAM TIGRIANS, has been liying the world with the so called fack evidenens? anyway let me get back to the so called oppostion leaders, memebers and supporters that are in diaspora. Some of us are already victims of tplf, that we divided our seleves with minor reasons including political diffrence, ethinicity, ideological diffrence, and so many other silly reasons compare to the task that we should have done. Some of us are in ego of my way or the high way style, we need to make so many personal changes that can bring our unity including listiening each other, respecting each other, supporting each other, appreciating each other, either among one party or in diffrent party respect to our common goals, i.e. getting rid of the tplf regime. Lets, fix our own individual problems so that we can end the tplf era and bring the right dream to our people. I personlly tired of listing the daily end less damges that are done by tplf regime, instead lets be very practical to remove this regime.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:39 am
there is no democratical election at all in africa,we have seen it from the election of kenya und zembaw in ethiopia the shabia egent tplf would like to stay on pawer forever
April 21st, 2008 at 10:41 am
ጐድ
April 21st, 2008 at 10:42 am
Truth why are you mad EPRDF IS MOVING FORWARD not old gerg kinjit the truth heurt haaahhhhaaaaaa
VIVA EPRDF
April 21st, 2008 at 10:43 am
good
April 21st, 2008 at 10:44 am
Truth which kinjit do you belong by the way
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:27 am
Now you think you are doing your idiot job ? huh let me put it like this…….your master have lost in 2005….he was made and power lover he have killed more 200 poeple.
TPLF will never win….ethiopian people heart !not by money ! not by AK47 !
tell that to your master meles/sebhat if he real want to know that ethiopian people will vote for him ?
1/ free court
2/ free media
3/ free election bord
4/ free police
5/ free (wetaders)
then we do an election with any ethiopian oppostion party TPLF will never ever win !
why TPLF will not win the election becouse
1/ TPLFs are not ethiopians
2/ TPLFs did not respact ethiopians
3/ TPLFs are idiot gang
4/ TPLFs are so haters
5/ TPLFs are killers
6/ TPLFs are denkoros
7/ TPLFs never listen
8/ TPLFs are Kefafay
8/ TPLFs are leba
9/ TPLFs are dekam, kenategna,
10/ TPLFs are so so so an human baby killer, mather killers, father killer,
the only things TPLF think they can fool all ethiopians by lies maybe they can lie us not to ethiopia who live in the country !!!!!!that is why they have lost the election in 2005.
let me hear yaaaaaaa baby killer
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:29 am
unhuman*
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:50 pm
WAW! this web site became useless dead, there is no interesting intellegent discussion any longer, it is all “Yetela bete tera were”.
HA!!HA!!!HA!!!!HA!!!!!!