2010 Ethiopian general election

none Ethiopia parliamentary 2005 Ethiopian general election 2005 2015 Ethiopian general election 2015 All 547 seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives 274 23 May 2010 Meles Zenawi.jpg Meles Zenawi Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front TPLF D52D3A 327 499 172 Prime Minister Meles Zenawi EPRDF Prime Minister Meles Zenawi EPRDF General elections were held in Ethiopia on 23 May 2010. There was a total of 4,525 candidates running for the open positions—which included 547 seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives; 1,349 of whom were members of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), 374 members of parties loosely aligned with the EPRDF, 2,798 members of opposition parties, and 4 independent candidates.http://www.electionethiopia.org/en/news/233.html Number of Political Parties and Independent Candidates for Regional Councils /2010 General Election/" 16 May 2010 unfit https://web.archive.org/web/20100627015143/http://www.electionethiopia.org/en/news/233.html 27 June 2010 Conduct The incumbent party EPRDF and opposition parties signed the Election Code of Conduct. They agreed on time allocation of public media, though the opposition leaders complained about the time allocated to them, saying that it was unfair for the ruling party to take the highest share of the time. The parties participated in a campaign debate that was broadcast on the public television, ETV. One opposition party, the All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP), expressed serious concern and walked out of the debate after requesting that the debate be transmitted live and in the presence of the public.March 2010 Based on the violence associated with the previous general election, on 13 April 2010 the U.S. State Department issued a travel alert "before and after national parliamentary elections scheduled for May 23, 2010, and recommends against all but essential travel to Ethiopia during this period." The travel alert pointed out that "U.S. citizens [should] ... maintain a high level of security awareness at all times and avoid political rallies, demonstrations, and crowds of any kind. U.S. citizens should avoid polling places on election day, and be aware that authorities will strictly enforce specific prohibitions such as photography at polling stations.""Travel Alert: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs" https://web.archive.org/web/20100422060543/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_2108.html 2010-04-22 , 13 April 2010 (accessed 16 April 2010) Opposition parties expressed their concern that the election would lead to violence and that their supporters would be arrested and imprisoned. Beyene Petros was reported to have claimed to United States diplomatic personnel that "EPRDF cadres in Eastern Wolaita" attacked opposition party leaders and vandalized their cars when they attempted to register candidates in that part of Ethiopia.June 2023 Opposition leader Merera Gudina stated that, because the ruling EPRDF controls all local administrations, the election would be a struggle to prevent Ethiopia from becoming a one-party state."Potential For Violence Shadows Ethiopia's 2010 Election", Voice of America website (accessed 30 November 2009)"US concerned at restrictions on Ethiopia opposition" European election observers said that the election fell short of international standards. According to Human Rights Watch, the government had a strategy to systematically close down space for political dissent and independent criticism.Human Rights Watch World Report 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20150414140057/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/wr2011.pdf April 14, 2015 page 121 According to Amnesty International, the final report of the EU Election Observation Mission highlighted violations of freedom of expression, assembly, and movement of opposition party members; misuse of state resources by the ruling party; and a lack of independent media coverage. The Prime Minister described the report as "useless trash" and the Chief EU Observer was not granted access to Ethiopia to present the final report.Amnesty International report 2011September 2017 InternetArchiveBot yes Results According to early results released by the election board, the EPRDF was on course for victory, leading the vote count in all of Ethiopia's regions.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10150894 Meles Zenawi's party 'leads' in Ethiopia's election 24 May 2010 BBC News British Broadcasting Corporation 24 May 2010 The chairman of the election board, Merga Bekana, announced that the EPRDF had "definitely" won the election following its lead in 9 of 11 regions that had reported results, including the former opposition-dominated region of Oromia.http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/05/2010524193723542749.html Ethiopia ruling party set for sweep 24 May 2010 Al-Jazeera 24 May 2010https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64N4M620100524 Ethiopia's ruling party on course for landslide 24 May 2010 Reuters 24 May 2010 Barry Malone Human Rights Watch claimed the results were affected by government intimidation of voters over a period of months.https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iSHBg7py9zNwB1BSHa7FAZgD32lwD9FTD8L80 https://web.archive.org/web/20100527061434/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iSHBg7py9zNwB1BSHa7FAZgD32lwD9FTD8L80 dead May 27, 2010 Early results: Ethiopia's ruling party won vote Powell Anita 24 May 2010 Associated Press 24 May 2010 European Union observers stated the election was "peaceful and calm," but noted there were claims of irregularities. 90% of eligible voters turned out for the election.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article7135510.ece Western ally wins landslide in Ethiopia amid vote rigging claims McConnell Tristan 25 May 2010 The Times 24 May 2010 LondonSeptember 2024 medicmedic Preliminary results, with 11 election districts not yet having reported results, were as follows:Xan Rice, "Unease over extent of ruling party's landslide in Ethiopia", The Guardian, published 26 May 2010 (accessed 10 June 2010) EPRDF: 499 seats allied parties: 35 seats opposition parties: 2 seats Opposition groups rejected the election results, with both the Medrek coalition and the separate AEUP issuing calls for a re-run of the election. Both opposition groups said that their observers were blocked from entering polling stations during the election on Sunday, May 23, and in some cases, the individuals beaten. The United States and the European Union both criticized the election as falling short of international standards."Ethiopia Opposition Leaders Call for New Vote", Voice of America website, published 26 May 2010 However, Ethiopian government officials defended the results as accurately reflecting the mood of the people. The Ethiopian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Berhanu Kebede, claimed that voters had rewarded Meles Zenawi and his party for their achievements saying, "The government has registered successful development and growth policies. There has been double-digit growth for the past seven years. Primary school and health sector coverage have greatly improved. There has been more investment in infrastructure in the past 10 years than in the previous 100." On 21 June 2010, the NEBE released the final election results, which confirmed the preliminary results from the previous month.Ethiopia: ruling party landslide confirmed https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iSHBg7py9zNwB1BSHa7FAZgD32lwD9GFO3F80 https://web.archive.org/web/20100624223317/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iSHBg7py9zNwB1BSHa7FAZgD32lwD9GFO3F80 dead June 24, 2010 AP 2010-06-21 2010-06-21 The EPRDF won 499 of the 547 available parliamentary seats, opposition or independent candidates won 2 seats, and EPRDF-allied parties won the remaining seats.Ethiopia ruling party, allies win 99% of vote: result https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ijupIuUVax2TRM0ZE8f1PxMsoUuA https://web.archive.org/web/20100626041622/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ijupIuUVax2TRM0ZE8f1PxMsoUuA dead June 26, 2010 AFP 2010-06-21 2010-06-21 Additionally, the EPRDF won all but one of 1,904 council seats in regional elections. The opposition filed appeals with the election board and the Ethiopian Supreme Court, but both appeals were rejected. On July 20, the Court of Cassation, Ethiopia's highest court, rejected the opposition's final appeal.Ethiopia court rejects final poll result challenge Barry Malone https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE66J0RW20100720 https://web.archive.org/web/20100723130544/http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE66J0RW20100720 dead July 23, 2010 Google News July 20, 2010 July 20, 2010 File:Ethiopia House of Peoples' Representatives 2010.svg EPRDF and allies 8 Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front 499 +172 Ethiopian Somali People's Democratic Party 24 0 #87CEEB Benishangul-Gumuz People's Democratic Party 9 +1 Afar National Democratic Party 8 0 Gambela People's Democratic Movement 3 0 Argoba People's Democratic Organization 1 New #FF7F00 Hareri National League 1 0 y 545 +174 Medrek 1 New Coalition for Unity and Democracy 0 –109 Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement 0 –11 #2E8B57 United Ethiopian Democratic Forces 0 –53 Independents 1 0 29832190 31926520 0 African Elections Database See also Human rights in Ethiopia References External links Jason McClure, "Candidate Is Stabbed to Death in Ethiopia", New York Times (published 2 March 2010) "Ethiopian Opposition Parliamentary Candidate Killed (Update1)", Business Week/Bloomsberg website (originally published 2 March 2010) Ethiopia General Category:General elections in Ethiopia General election Category:Election and referendum articles with incomplete results