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                 Little Drama in Ethiopia's National Elections

   by VOA News

   Ethiopians are voting in national elections expected to give the ruling
   EPRDF party another five-year hold on power.

   Voting appeared to be going smoothly Sunday in the capital, Addis
   Ababa, where long lines of voters waited peacefully outside polling
   stations.

   Opposition parties say the elections are not free and fair because
   officials clamp down on opposition supporters and routinely detain
   bloggers and journalists.

   The EPRDF (Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front) denies
   those accusations and says Ethiopians support its record of economic
   growth.

   The EPRDF and its allies won all but one seat in parliament during the
   last elections in 2010.  Those elections were peaceful, in contrast to
   the disputed 2005 elections, which resulted in protests and violent
   clashes that left nearly 200 people dead.

   Nearly 37 million people are registered to vote in Sunday's elections.
   Initial results are expected within two to five days, with official
   results coming by June 22.

   The only foreign observers are from the African Union, which has sent a
   team of 59 monitors.  The U.S.-based Carter Center and the European
   Union, which monitored the last two elections, were not invited back
   this time.

   These are the first elections since the death of longtime prime
   minister Meles Zenawi in 2012.  Current Prime Minister Haliemariam
   Desalegn is expected to remain in power after the vote.

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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia-goes-to-the-polls/2787561.ht
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia-goes-to-the-polls/2787561.html