Ethiopians yesterday voted in national and regional elections, the nation’s first since the 2012 death of its longtime leader, but the ruling party is expected to maintain its iron-clad grip on power.
More than 38 million voters were eligible to cast ballots in this East African nation of about 90 million people. Some opposition groups had threatened to boycott the vote, saying their members were being harassed and detained — charges the government denies.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, a former university professor-turned-politician, has been leading the nation since the death of strongman Meles Zenawi, who built the ruling coalition into a powerful political organization while opposition groups complained of persecution.
Photo: Reuters
Ethiopia is a federal parliamentary republic, with the party or coalition that wins the most seats in the 547-seat parliament forming the next government.
All parliament seats were at stake yesterday, as well as local offices, but Desalegn is expected to remain in power.
In 2010, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) won 99.6 percent of all parliamentary seats. Only one opposition lawmaker won a seat in an election that watchdog groups said was marred by intimidation and the harassment of opposition activists.
Human Rights Watch called that victory “the culmination of the government’s five-year strategy of systematically closing down space for political dissent and independent criticism.”
Those allegations have persisted for this year’s election. The government has denied the allegations, instead accusing the opposition — and neighboring arch-foe Eritrea — of plotting to disrupt the vote.
“We remain vigilant and confident that the general election will be peaceful, free and fair, notwithstanding destabilization attempts that may be tried by Eritrea or its local emissaries, which we will respond to with stern measures,” Desalegn said on Thursday.
More 45,000 polling stations were open, with nearly 250,000 election observers assigned to monitor them.
“I will give my vote to the ruling party because I do not have faith in the opposition parties’ ability to govern,” said Yohannes Seife, a 24-year-old graphic designer, speaking before state radio announced that polls had opened.
Ethiopia’s economy has been one of the fastest growing in Africa, fueled by a government investment drive in new railways, roads and hydroelectric dams. The World Bank forecasts growth of 10.5 percent in the year starting in July.
However, with the outcome of the vote seen as a certainty, some Ethiopians say they will not bother to cast their ballots.
“The election will bring no change,” said Behailu Ayele, a 25-year-old, who did not plan to vote. “It is already known that the EPRDF will win the vote like the previous elections — by fraud.”
The opposition won an unprecedented 147 seats in an election in 2005, but most winning opposition candidates did not join parliament, saying the ballot was rigged. In that vote, opponents swept up seats in the capital, Addis Ababa.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia said provisional results are expected in a week, but final results will not be released before June 22.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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