Ethiopia's ruling party sweeps parliament: early election results

Addis – Ababa- Ethiopia’s ruling party and its allies won a large majority in parliament, the country’s election board said on Wednesday, based on an early vote count in a weekend election in which opponents complained their supporters were harassed.

Election officials count votes at the end of the voting exercise in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa May 24, 2015. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri — Election officials count votes at the end of the voting exercise in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa May 24, 2015. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

Charges of abuse were dismissed by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, leader of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which has been in power for almost 25 years. It was widely expected to sweep the vote.

The EPRDF and its allies won 442 seats out of 547, according to a Reuters tally calculated after election board Chairman Merga Bekana read out regional results so far. The opposition won just one seat in the last parliament.

(Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Writing by Edmund Blair; editing by John Stonestreet)

Source: Reuters