Ethiopia held general elections on May 15, 2005, for seats in both its national and in four regional government councils. Under pressure from the international community, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi promised that this election would be proof that more democracy would come in this multi-ethnic nation; international elections observers from the European Union and the U.S.-based Carter Center were present to observe the results. This election succeeded in attracting about 90% of the registered voters to the polls. A government ban on protests was imposed throughout the election period. Politics of Ethiopia Categories: Election related stubs | Elections in Ethiopia ... May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... List of heads of government of Ethiopia (Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office) Affiliations See also Ethiopia Rulers and Heads of State of Ethiopia List of Presidents of Ethiopia Lists of office-holders ... Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi Legesse (Meles) Zenawi (born May 8, 1955) is Prime Minister of Ethiopia. ... ... The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library The Carter Center is a human rights organization, founded in 1982 and chaired by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. ...

Early results

Early results showed the opposition with a big, sweeping all of the contested seats in the capital Addis both in the race for parliamentary as well as local government. By the afternoon of the 16th of May, the opposition was halfway towards winning a majority in the national partliament with only about a third of the constituencies reporting complete results. Late on May 16, trailing baddly in the priliminary report covering just under 200 seats realeased by the National Election Board, the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) announced that it had won more than 300 seats, while conceding that opposition parties won all 23 seats in the capital city Addis Ababa. The two major opposition parties, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) claimed on that same day that they had won 185 of the approximately 200 seats for which the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) had released preliminary results. That was a radical increase from the total of 12 seats the opposition had in the previous parliament. May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... The Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front, or EPRDF, is the ruling political party of Ethiopia. ... Addis Ababa as seen from space. ... The Coalition for Unity and Democracy (commonly referred to as CUD, or occasionally as CDU) is a coalition of four existing political parties of Ethiopia which combined to compete for seats in the Ethiopian General Elections held on May 15, 2005. ... The United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (or UEDF) is a coalition of several existing political parties of Ethiopia which combined to compete for seats in the Ethiopian General Elections held on May 15, 2005. ...

By law, the NEBE was required to announce the official results on June 8. However, the vote tallying process was jeoperdized when, during the evening of May 16, the Prime Minister declared a state of emmergency, outlawed any public gathering, assumed dirct command of the security forces, and replaced the capital city police with federal police and special forces drawn from elite army units. The NEBE, simultaneously, ordered the vote tallying process to stop, an order which was not recended for nearly a week, yet another action which was strognly objected to by the opposition and the independent election monitors.

The next official report released from the NEBE released on May 27 showed that the EPRDF had won 209 seats, and affiliated parties 12 more. The report indicated the opposition parties to have won 142 seats. "These results are provisional, and these results could change because we are looking into complaints by some of the parties," said NEBE spokesman Getahun Amogne. May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ...

Alleged voting irregularities

The CUD lodged complaints in 139 constituencies, the UEDF lodged 89 complaints, while the EPRDF has raised concerns over irregularities in more than 50 seats. Including the complaints lodged by small parties, complaints concerning the results in 299 parliamentary seats were lodged. According to an official of the NEBE, political parties had until June 3 to provide evidence of fraud, or their complaints would be dismissed. However, investigations completed so far will lead to elections being re-run at 16 voting stations, affecting elections for six seats. June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ...

Provisional results were scheduled to be released on May 23, but the need to investigate claims of voting irregularities and disruptions in two southern regions — Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region and Oromia — have pushed the release of these results back to June 8, the date originally scheduled for releasing the official results. While the ruling party has unofficially been reported the winner of the election, demonstrations were held protesting alleged election fraud. Demonstrations continued into June 2005, as hundreds of students were arrested for demonstrating in spite of a month-old ban on protests imposed on the government. On June 8, police shot 42 people gathering at the Piazza and Merkato markets of Addis Ababa. The government afterwards stated that an appropriate level of force was used and accused the CUD of fomenting dissent; the CUD denied these accusations, and claimed that the government was attempting to distract attention from election fraud. This led to the leaders of the CUD, including head Hailu Shawul, being put under house arrest while hundreds of security forces patrolled the streets of the capital. May 23 is the 143rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (144th in leap years). ... Ethiopia is divided into 9 ethnically-based administrative regions (kililoch; singular - kilil): Afar Amhara Benishangul-Gumaz Gambela Hariai Oromia Somali Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region Tigray Additionally, there are two chartered cities (astedader akababiwach, singular - astedader akabibi): Addis Ababa Dire Dawa These administrative regions replaced the older system of... Map of Ethiopia highlighting the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples region. ... Oromo flag The land of the Oromo Nation is known as Oromia (sometimes spelled Oromiya). ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... Addis Ababa as seen from space. ... Hailu Shawel (born 1936) is an Ethiopian engineer and the chairman of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CDU). ...

Official results

On July 8, the NEBE released the first official results for 307 of the 527 national parliamentary seats. Of the 307 seats, the EPRDF had won 139, while CUD and UEDF won 93 and 42, respectively. Smaller parties and independent candidates won the remaining 33 seats. However, Berhanu Nega, vice-chairman of the CUD, had criticized the process on July 20, claiming that "The investigation process was a complete failure. Our representatives and witnesses have been harassed, threatened, barred and killed upon their return from the hearings." July 8 is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 176 days remaining. ...

Meanwhile, the NEBE continues to investigate voting fraud and other irregularities, while also arranging new polls to resolve some disputes. On August 9, official results were released, acknowledging that the ruling EPRDF had won 296 of the total 524 seats — about 56 percent — enabling it to form a government, while its allied parties won 22 seats. The UEDF won 52 seats. Berhanu said his party, which had officially won 109 seats, was debating whether they would challenge the results in court. Repeat elections were scheduled for August 21 in 31 areas where either irregularities were reported or results were challenged. August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Opposition parties had decided to boycott the related August 21 elections in the Somali Region. The CUD withdrew 10 of the 17 candidates it was fielding in Somali region, but the Western Somali Democratic Party, the Somali Democratic Alliance Forces and Del Wabe People's Democratic Movement who had planned to field 43 candidates for the federal parliament and 273 candidates for the regional parliament in the regional capital of Jijiga, also announced that they would boycott this election. August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Somali is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia. ... Western Somali Democratic Party is a political party in Ethiopia. ... Jijiga is a city in Ethiopia, located approximately 80 km east of Harar and 60 km west of the border with Somaliland. ...

On September 5, the NEBE released its final results, in which the EPRDF retained its control of the government with 327 seats, or 59 percent of the vote. Opposition parties won 174 seats, or 32 percent of the vote. The CUD alone won 20 percent of the vote. September 5 is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years). ...

Protests of the results, led by Coalition for Democracy and Unity, began on November 1 and have prompted more than 2,000 arrests. Live gunfire from government forces has been directed at protesters and bystanders, killing at least 42 people.[1] The Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front, or EPRDF, is the ruling political party of Ethiopia. ... The Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front, or TPLF, is the core group of the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the political party that is leading Ethiopia as of 2005. ... The Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The Amhara National Democratic Movement is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The Southern Ethiopian Peoples Democratic Movement is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The Coalition for Unity and Democracy (commonly referred to as CUD, or occasionally as CDU) is a coalition of four existing political parties of Ethiopia which combined to compete for seats in the Ethiopian General Elections held on May 15, 2005. ... The Ethiopian Democratic League is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The All Ethiopian Unity Party is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The United Ethiopian Democratic Party-Medhin Party is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (or UEDF) is a coalition of several existing political parties of Ethiopia which combined to compete for seats in the Ethiopian General Elections held on May 15, 2005. ... The Oromo National Congress is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The Ethiopian Social Democratic Federal Party is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The Southern Ethiopia Peoples Democratic Coalition is a political party in Ethiopia. ... All-Amhara Peoples Organization. ... The Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The Somali Peoples Democratic Party is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The Benishangul Gumuz People’s Democratic Unity Front is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The Afar National Democratic Party is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The Gambella Peoples’ Democratic Movement is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The Sheko and Mezenger Peoples Democratic Unity Organization is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The Hareri National League is a political party in Ethiopia. ... The Argoba National Democratic Organization is a political party in Ethiopia. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ...

External links

• National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE)
• Angus Reid Consultants - Election Tracker
• International Herald Tribune coverage
• Reuters Alternet May 17 coverage
• Carter Center statement on the Election
• Reuters Alternet May 27 coverage
• Ethiopia electoral body orders poll rerun in six constituencies (Sudan Tribune)
• Ethiopians shot dead in protests, BBC, 8 June 2005
• Ethiopia Political Unrest Leaves 20 Dead, Washington Post, 8 June 2005
• Crackdown on media amid election controversy, IFEX
• First Ethiopia poll results drawn, BBC News, 8 July 2005
• Opposition rejects final election results, IRIN
• Opposition parties to boycott Somali region polls, IRIN
• Ruling party named winner in final result of disputed poll, IRIN, 5 September 2005