AFRICA/ETHIOPIA - While waiting for official election results, government and opposition both claim victory in parliamentary elections on 15 May

Addis Ababa (Fides Service)- In Ethiopia a growing number of Opposition members are claiming victory after parliamentary elections held on Sunday 15 May. According to the Opposition 92 seats went to the main group CUD, Coalition for Unity and Democracy, and 10 to 15 went to UEDF, United Ethiopian Democratic Front for a total of 102 seats. The Opposition also laments that the international media accepted without criticism the government statement that the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front EPRDF won all the votes in rural areas .
“In actual fact the official results will only be known in about two weeks time” local sources in Addis Ababa told Fides. “For the moment international observers have released only partial reports on the regularity of the vote. The Carter Centre for example issued a provisional report in which it said there had been some irregularities which will be given in detail in the final report to be made public after the official election results have been announced”.
The Carter Centre report said on the one hand that the Opposition had greater access to the media but on the other it denounced “continued intimidation. Some affirmations are difficult to ascertain and some at least are exaggerated. We will continue to control the investigation of these claims”. Irregularities mentioned in the report include lack of control of identity papers and at least one case of the voting being interrupted for 3 hours - officially, ‘because the booth was badly organised’. “We call on the parties, candidates and voters to be patient and to wait for the process to reach its conclusion” the report said.
“The elections were a surprise for the high turnout and for great patience shown by the voters. Some stood in line to vote for as long as 11 hours, but there were no protests or incidents. In this sense the elections were a great proof of democracy ” the sources told Fides.
While the country waits for the official results the authorities have banned public demonstrations for a month to avoid tension and incidents. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 18/5/2005 righe 33 parole 363)