Ethiopia opposition complains of 'vote-rigging'
Leaders of Ethiopia’s largest opposition bloc said they have evidence of voter intimidation and vote-rigging which may lead them to reject the results of today’s national election.
The poll is being closely watched by international observers and by critics who claim the US-allied ruling party has harassed voters and challengers.
Opposition members fear the poll will lead to a new decade of power for Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who seized control of the Horn of Africa country in a 1991 coup.
Opposition leaders say they worry the election may turn into a repeat of the contentious poll in 2005, when about 100 opposition politicians and activists who challenged the results were arrested.
The largest opposition bloc, Medrek, complained of intimidation soon after today’s vote began.
Medrek spokesman Negasso Gidada said just three hours into voting, some of his party’s observers were blocked and arrested in northern Ethiopia, while others have been intimidated in southern Ethiopia. Mr Negasso said his party also believes voting booths are not private and confirmed that Medrek had complained to election officials.
“We think we may not accept the results,” said Mr Negasso.
However, government spokesman Bereket Simon said he was not aware of not any election irregularities or problems and, when told of the opposition claims, declared: “This is simply, simply an orchestrated lie.
“If they reject the result before it’s declared, it means they know how they’ve been accepted. They know they have lost it squarely.”
Mr Negasso said a group of his party’s election observers was arrested yesterday in Tigray. He also said that his party’s observers were being intimidated in Oromia and Amhara regions, and that voter cards were being denied to eligible opposition voters.
He added that the plastic sheets separating election booths in the capital were not private enough and that voters could speak to each other and pass notes under the barriers.
“In many places the secret ballot is being violated. This is very serious,” he said.
While the ruling party and election officials promised the election would be free and fair, Ethiopia is frequently criticised for its human rights record, including by the US State Department. Yet the US considers Ethiopia an ally. Both countries want to curb Islamist extremism in Somalia, Ethiopia’s unstable neighbour to the east. And Ethiopia is reliant on billions of dollars of foreign aid, most of it from the US.
At a polling station in central Addis Ababa, dozens of voters queued at dawn before the polls opened at 6am (3am Irish time).
Kinde Moges, a 35-year-old private security guard, said he came early to vote before starting work.
“The party I voted for is my choice because I know its past experience and its future hopes,” he said, indicating he voted for the ruling party. He said he thought the party he chose would help his three children get a good education and jobs, he said, to “support me in my old age”.
The government has said observers from the European Union and the African Union can monitor the vote along with 40,000 local observers.
