ETHIOPIA: Thousands to be re-registered to vote

ADDIS ABABA, 2 May 2005 (IRIN) - Thousands of voters in Ethiopia's national elections have to be re-registered because of serious abuses, the chairman of the national election board said on Monday.

Kemal Bedri said that less than two weeks to the 15 May polling, investigators had discovered irregularities, including underage voters and people with multiple ballots.

"Re-registration will have to take place because we found irregularities," Kemal told journalists. He added that police were now investigating the abuses - which included 10-year-old children being registered to vote - and would prosecute those found responsible.

"We sent investigators after [receiving] complaints of irregularities. We found that in one area it was very bad with underage voters. We felt re-registration should take place," he said.

"We decided that this could not have been done other than deliberately, so We decided the police should investigate the matter and we expect action to be taken," he added, noting that in some areas voters were not even registered to take part in the elections.

Kemal said re-registration would take place in 15 polling stations in Afar, in northeastern Ethiopia, and in three polling stations in Sidama, in the south of the country. Each polling station has around 1,500 voters.

It was the second time that abuses including underage voters have been discovered. In March, election board officials discovered that children as young as three were registered to vote and that multiple ballots had been handed out.

The problem was discovered in Hadiya district, 200 km south of Addis Ababa, where elections in 2000 had to be re-run because of similar abuses. Traditionally, the district has strongly opposed the ruling party.

In spite of evidence of abuses, Kemal maintained a positive outlook: "The elections are going extremely well. I have yet to see campaigns without problems. The system is working as far as I am concerned."

Meanwhile, 319 international election observers from the EU, the US, India, China, Turkey, the Arab League and the African Union are expected to monitor the polls.

Several hundred domestic observers from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church are also expected to observe.

Thus far, 25.6 million people have registered to vote and 35 political parties will contest the election. Some 1,845 candidates – 271 of whom are women – will run for seats. Ethiopia has a two-house parliament: the 112-seat upper House of the Federation and the 547-seat lower House of People's Representatives.

[ENDS]