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Ethiopia Election Seen as âFree and Fairâ

   Peter Clottey 23 May 2010
   Ethiopian  women  wait  to  cast  their vote Sunday, May 23, 2010 at a
   polling station in Mojo, Ethiopia, 70 km south of Addis Ababa

Photo: AP

   Ethiopian  women  wait  to  cast  their vote Sunday, May 23, 2010 at a
   polling station in Mojo, Ethiopia, 70 km south of Addis Ababa

   A  top  official  of Ethiopiaâs government told VOA he is proud of the
   administrationâs  handling  of  what  he  called  a free and fair vote
   Sunday,   despite   opposition   claims   of  voter  intimidation  and
   harassment.

   Communications  minister Bereket Simon said he is confident the ruling
   Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) party is going
   to  win  the  vote  based  on its record of improving the lives of the
   ordinary Ethiopian and its development programs.

   âWe prepared ourselves for the last five years despite the allegations
   that  democracy  has  narrowed down. All what we did was to expand the
   democratic  spectrum  and  they  show that a free and fair environment
   will  prevail.  That  is  what  we  have  been  trying  to do and that
   ultimately has paid off,â he said.

   The  electoral commission said it will announce provisional results of
   the vote 48 hours after the poll. But, opposition groups said Sundayâs
   vote  was  fraught  with voter intimidation and harassment, which they
   said was the ruling partyâs ploy to ensure its firm grip on power.

   But,  communications  minister  Simon  said the competitiveness of the
   just-ended vote disproves the accusations.

   âWe  know the opposition had designed a strategy whereby they tried to
   tarnish  the  whole  democratic  electoral  process.  The facts on the
   ground  tell everybody that this has been a competitive election. And,
   more  than  500 hours of airtime have been allotted to all, about nine
   televised  debates  by  the  public  media  have been doneâ¦the system
   accommodated even extra requests by the opposition. So, one can say we
   have issued (a) free and fair playing ground,â Simon said.

   About 32 million registered Ethiopians were expected to participate in
   Sundayâs vote.

   Simon said several opposition allegations were unfounded.

   âThis is not a new phenomenon. In the past, they have been complaining
   and  submitting  many new allegations. Weâve been verifying them (but)
   we were not able to prove what they have asserted. On the contrary, we
   have disproved every allegation,â Simon said.

   Last  week,  senior  officials  of Ethiopiaâs National Electoral Board
   (NEBE) said it was well prepared to guarantee a free and fair, as well
   as a transparent vote.

   The  electoral  body says it deployed about 220,000 election officials
   in over 40,000 polling stations across Ethiopia.

   Several  local and international poll observers, including the African
   Union  and  the  European  Union,  monitored  Sundayâs  vote. They are
   expected to soon present their final assessment of the election in the
   coming days.

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