Seven reported killed in election violence

An opposition leader said security forces killed seven people on Sunday during Ethiopia’s general elections, report AP and Reuters. Security forces reportedly opened fire on crowds protesting fraud in two districts in southern Ethiopia, but there has been no official or independent verification. Beyane Petros, chairman of the Southern Ethiopia People’s Democratic Coalition told AP that army special forces threw a grenade into a group of voters, and two others were killed in Lemmo district. “What triggered the fighting is the ruling party using its agents, who have pretended to be electoral officials, to fill the ballot boxes with false votes”, he told AP.

Voters turned out on Sunday to choose Ethiopia’s nine regional assemblies, its 548-seat national parliament and two city councils (Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa). The opposition did not run candidates for every seat, complaining of harassment and manipulation in some areas, although opposition parties had for the first time use of television and radio for campaign purposes. Residents in the Ogaden area did not vote because of the hunger crisis caused by three years of drought - now followed by heavy rains. The Ethiopian Human Rights Council sent out monitors, and expects to submit a report this week. Despite official claims of “an estimated 90 percent” participation, AP says reporters saw “little evidence of a large turnout”.

Voting had to be extended in some areas past the allocated time. The offical count is likely to be announced June 7. Ethiopian politics are dominated by the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), its members and affiliates.

An official at the National Election Board, Aklilu Mekuria, said the conflict had not affected the election process, reported state radio. In a report monitored by the BBC, Aklilu said the election had proceeded in “all parts of the country” including Tigray, in the north, but that voting in the Somali Region had been postponed. People in Badme, parts of Sheraro and the East Tigray Zone were reported to be voting, despite the conflict. The report said people displaced from Gulo-Mekheda and Irob “who have sheltered in caves in East Tigray Zone were also casting votes in 318 polling stations”. There has been no independent verification of this.

An Ethiopian official told IRIN that arrangements had successfully been made for displaced voters in the northern region.