Complaints raised as Ethiopians vote in what government bills as first free election
- Voting in country’s ‘first attempt at free and fair elections’ described as mainly mostly peaceful so far
- However, violence has been cited in some areas while opposition parties have boycotted the poll in others
Ethiopia’s elections chief said complaints by the opposition of irregularities in two regions risked tarnishing polls on Monday billed by the government as the country’s first free and fair vote after decades of repression.
Election board chief Birtukan Midekssa said several opposition parties had complained their agents were beaten and their badges confiscated in two regions.
Opposition leader Berhanu Nega said his Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice party (Ezema) had filed 207 complaints. Local officials and militia prevented observers from entering many polling stations in the Amhara region and in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region, he said.
“This will jeopardise the credibility of the election process and its result,” Birtukan warned. “Local officials and law enforcement officers should immediately take corrective measures.”
But in most areas, including the capital, voting went peacefully although many polling stations opened late. The election board extended voting nationwide by three hours because many polling stations still had long lines when they were due to close.