ETHIOPIA-ELECTION/POLLS OPEN Voters head to polls in Ethiopia's parliamentary election

Record ID: 154212

  • Title: ETHIOPIA-ELECTION/POLLS OPEN Voters head to polls in Ethiopia's parliamentary election
  • Date: 24th May 2015
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PEOPLE COLLECTING VOTING PAPER MAN CASTING HIS VOTE HAND DROPPING BALLOT PAPER INTO BOX ELECTORAL OFFICIAL, ALEMAYEHU TEREFE, ASSISTING VOTERS ELECTION REGISTRATION CARD (SOUNDBITE) (Amharic) ELECTORAL OFFICIAL, ALEMAYEHU TEREFE, SAYING: "We opened this voting station at 0600 local time in the presence of public and political party observers, after crosschecking
  • Embargoed: 8th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ethiopia
  • Country: Ethiopia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8IMSJVDKYH6B12OD85EKYOO8U
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Ethiopians started voting on Sunday (May 24) in a parliamentary election that is expected to hand a landslide win to the ruling party, which boasts about delivering strong economic growth while opponents say it has trampled on political freedoms.
    In power for almost a quarter of a century, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has overseen the transformation of a nation that was on its knees after communist purges and famine to one that now attracts foreign investors.
    The outgoing parliament of 547 seats had just one opposition member.
    Experts do not expect a dramatic shift in opposition fortunes in this election, which is set to return Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to office for another five years.
    Electoral officials opened polling stations at 0600 (0300 GMT) local time, and voters were already queuing up to cast their votes.
    "We opened this voting station at 0600 local time in the presence of public and political party observers, after crosschecking all the ballet box numbers with pin lock numbers. We have started the voting process exactly at 0600 by completing the necessary procedures," said electoral official Alemayehu Terefe.
    Ethiopia's economy has been one of the fastest growing in Africa, fuelled by a government investment drive in new railways, roads and hydro-electric dams. The World Bank forecasts growth of 10.5 percent in the year starting in July.
    But with the outcome of the vote seen as a certainty, some Ethiopians say they will not bother to cast their ballots.
    Provisional results are expected to emerge in a few days, while the final tally will not be declared until next month in the nation of 96 million people and 37 million registered voters.
    The opposition won an unprecedented 147 seats in an election in 2005 but most winning opposition candidates did not join parliament, saying the ballot was rigged. In that vote, opponents swept up seats in the capital, Addis Ababa.
    But loyalties are more difficult to gauge in rural parts of the country, where many live in poverty.
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