ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, May 16 (UPI) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi banned all demonstrations in and around Addis Ababa as allegations of national voting fraud emerged.
In a televised address, Meles said the ban would last one month and he was personally assuming direct control of police and other security forces as Sunday's ballots were counted and accusations were investigated.
More than 90 percent of the country's 26 million registered voters cast their ballots in only the second election since the advent of multiparty politics and the first to be watched by foreign observers, The Times of London said Monday. Among them were 150 observers from the European Union and 50 from the U.S.-based Carter Center, led by former President Jimmy Carter, Voice of America said.
Throughout Sunday, the main opposition group, Coalition for Unity and Democracy, and other opposition leaders complained officials and supporters of the ruling Ethiopian People's Democratic Front were rigging votes and interfering at some of the country's 35,000 polling stations.
