In his ruling party's landslide victory in weekend parliamentary polls, Ethiopia's prime minister Meles Zenawi saw an enthusiastic popular endorsement of polices that are gradually leading the country out of poverty and backwardness. But western observers and human rights groups saw something quite different: the alarming advance, mirrored in other African states, of what might be termed one-party democracy.
Meles's Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, in power since 1991, and its allies won about 97% of parliamentary seats, assuring it another five-year term. Opposition groups were decimated. With most results in, the eight-party Medrek (Forum) coalition, the All Ethiopia Unity Organisation, and the Ethiopian Democratic party took only two seats between them, despite fielding candidates in most constituencies.
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