Sunday, May 22, 2005

Ethiopian Premier Holds on to His Seat

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been re-elected to parliament, election authorities said on Sunday, as early results from last week's polls showed his ruling party edging ahead of the opposition.

With partial returns continuing to trickle in, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) said results from 73 constituencies showed Meles's party with 37 seats in parliament compared to the opposition's 36.

The prime minister easily won re-election in his home district of Adwa, the board said, adding that it was still waiting for aggregated results from the vast majority of the country's 547 constituencies.

Both the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and the opposition have claimed victory in the May 15 election and are now trading accusations of fraud amid complaints about the slowness of the vote count.

IOL

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