{UAH} Dr. Kayongo, this illustrates our electoral process

Ethiopia's ruling party sweeps elections

The EPRDF and its allies have so far won all of 442 seats declared amid claims that opponents' supporters were harassed.

Ethiopia's ruling party and its allies have won a landslide victory in the country's parliamentary elections, based on preliminary results from the weekend polls, the country's electoral board has said.

In results announced by the board on Wednesday, the EPRDF and its allies have so far won all of 442 seats declared, leaving the opposition empty-handed.

The results of voting in the remaining 105 seats are yet to be announced.

The election was marred by allegations by the EPRDF's political opponents that their supporters were harassed.

The charges of abuse were dismissed by Hailemariam Desalegn, the prime minister and leader of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which has been in power for almost 25 years.

The party was widely expected to sweep the vote.

It was not an election, it was an organised armed robbery. Merera Gudina, chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress

The electoral board said turnout exceeded 90 percent.

Lines could be seen forming in front of polling stations on Sunday in what appeared to be a relatively high turn-out. More than 36.8 million voters had registered for the elections, a 26 per cent increase compared to 2010.......................................

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Peter Simon