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Opposition: Ethiopia âa defacto One-Party Stateâ

   Jackson Mvunganyi 26 May 2010

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

   Tens  of  thousands  of ruling party supporters rally, Tuesday May 25,
   2010  in  Addis  Ababa, Ethiopia, to celebrate victory in the national
   election, while the chief EU observer said the poll had been marred by
   an  uneven  playing field. The rally was called as provisional returns
   showed  a  victory  for  the  ruling  Ethiopian People's Revolutionary
   Democratic  Front  and  its allies. Final results will be announced in
   late June, officials have said. (AP Photo/Anita Powell)

   Ethiopian opposition groups announced Wednesday they are rejecting the
   results from Sundayâs parliamentary elections.

   Merera  Gudina of the Medrek coalition told VOA the National Electoral
   Board  should  conduct  another  election  because  the  last  one was
   massively rigged by the ruling EPDRF.

   The  Ethiopian Electoral Commission Wednesday released results from 98
   percent   of  the  voting  precincts.The  spokesman  of  the  National
   Electoral Board of Ethiopia, Mohamed AbdulRahman, told VOA the results
   show  that  the incumbent ruling party of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi,
   the EPDRF, won 499 of 536 seats.

   In  the  capital  Addis Ababa, traditionally an opposition stronghold,
   the EPRDF took 20 of 23 seats. Five years ago, the opposition held all
   the seats in the city.

   The  opposition  lost  heavily  in areas previously known to carry the
   majority  of  its  support.  In  Addis Ababa, Medrek won only a single
   seat.  This  has  been  translated by many analysts as a sign that the
   ruling party rigged the elections.
   âThe  whole  process  is  completely  fraud,â said Medrekâs Gudina. He
   added  that  the  opposition  was  united  in  rejecting  the election
   results.  Medrek  officials say that their poll officials were blocked
   from  accessing polling stations and, in many cases, were harassed and
   intimidated.
   The  European  Union  observers  have  said the election fell short of
   international standards.

   Government  spokesperson  Bereket  Simone said that the opposition was
   free  to  reject  the results and that there were mechanisms to handle
   such  complaints. âWe have no qualms if they want to continue with all
   these legal wranglingâ He said.

   The  Ethiopian  government has maintained that the elections were free
   and  fair âIt was the will of the people,â election board spokesperson
   Mohamed  Abdulrahaman said. There is no indication that the government
   will hold a rerun. Gudina said that this would not stop the opposition
   from  seeking  recourse.  âIn  this  country there is no separation of
   powersâ¦all  the institutions are controlled by one partyâ¦it has been
   a defacto one party state.â

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