Ethiopians vote, ruling party expected to keep grip on power
May 24, 2015, 10:30 AM
Voters queue early in the morning to cast their votes in Ethiopia's general election, Sunday May 24, 2015, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ethiopians voted Sunday in national and regional elections, the country's first since the 2012 death of its longtime leader, but the ruling party is expected to maintain its iron-clad grip on power. (AP Photo/Mulugeata Ayene)
(AP Photo/Mulugeata Ayene)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopians voted Sunday in national and regional elections in which the ruling party is expected to maintain its iron-clad grip on power.
Some opposition leaders said their members had been harassed and beaten up while trying to cast their ballots.
A spokesman for the opposition Blue party, Yonathan Tesfaye, told The Associated Press that Sunday’s election was “full of games,” apparently referring to electoral malpractices.
“We have received lots of complaints from our observers who were banned from observing the election process. The government has been using a number of techniques to harass them all day,” Yonathan said.
But the Ethiopian News Agency cited African Union as saying the voting had been mostly “orderly.” Shimelis Kemal, a state minister at the Government Communications Affairs office, said voter turnout was more than 85 percent and that the process had been peaceful.
The Election Board said late Sunday
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