Ethiopian Election Draws Record Turnout; Opposition Charges Fraud

23 May 2010

Ethiopians wait to cast their vote at a polling station in Dukem, Ethiopia, 40 km south of Addis Ababa, 23 May 2010

Ethiopian officials say a record number of voters have gone to the polls in an election expected to give Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's ruling party a huge majority in parliament. Opposition leaders charge the vote has been compromised.

As results began pouring in, ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front spokesman Hailemariam Dessalegn cautiously predicted a turnout of up to 90 percent of the country's 32 million voters.

"We have not got information from remote areas, but until now we know it is more than 80 percent," he said.

But, when asked about how it looked in Addis Ababa?

"Above 90 percent, but even in the rural areas we can reach above 90 percent," he said.

Analysts predict an overwhelming EPRDF victory that would hand Prime Minister Meles Zenawi another five-year term, possibly with more than the two-thirds majority he commands in parliament. Preliminary results are expected Monday.

But opposition parties allege widespread and systematic cheating, especially in remote areas where observation is difficult. Former Ethiopian president Negasso Gidada, now a leader of the main opposition coalition known as Medrek, says in thousands of precincts, his observers were denied access to the voting and counting process.