by Betre Yacob
Ethiopia held a non-competitive local and city council election on 14 and 21 April 2013, in which only the authoritarian ruling party, Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), and its affiliated parties contested. The election is said to have fallen short of international standards, and seriously condemned by thirty-three opposition political parties—which had boycotted the election during the run-up to the polls.
“It wasn’t an election but joking”, said Mr. Asrat Tasse, the chairperson of the coordination committee of the thirty-three opposition political parties. “Imagine! It didn’t participate all major opposition political parties that represent millions of Ethiopians; the ruling party was the only contestant.”
The election was held at nearly 45,000 polling stations across the nation with a total of 3.6 million candidates. Reports indicate that more than 96% of the candidates were from the ruling party, EPRDF, and the remaining 4% also from its affiliated parties.
The thirty-three opposition political parties had boycotted the election during the run-up to the polls—claiming that the government was committing political violence against their members, supporters, and candidates. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), as the election was approaching, many key members and candidates of opposition political parties were detained while thousands of supporters were intimidated and harassed. One candidate was also reported to have been killed by security officials.