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Oromo Federalist Congress party alleges government repression. Only fifteen opposition political parties have registered candidates
borkena
The Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), one of the main Oromo ethnic nationalist political organizations, announced that it will not participate in the VI general elections in Ethiopia, which are scheduled for May this year.
The party’s decision, according to Tiruneh Gemta, who heads the party’s office, is informed by the situation that its members in charge of coordinating the elections are in detention.
In addition, the party claimed that many of its offices, throughout Ethiopia’s Oromo region, are closed, according to Voice of America Amharic Service. So far, no party candidate is registered in any of the electoral districts.
The Ethiopian National Electoral Board extended the registration of candidates until Thursday this week. So far, 15 political parties have registered their candidates, according to the board.
The Oromo Federalist Congress issued a statement on Tuesday. He called for the released members the party alleges to be arrested. He also called for the reopening of offices.
The ruling Prosperity Party did not react to allegations of repression against members of the OFC party. However, the Ethiopian National Electoral Board advised the ruling party to abandon the usual practices of arresting candidates from opposition parties.
At a consultative meeting with opposition parties, which took place on Wednesday in the capital Addis Ababa, President Bertukan Mideksa said that the ruling party should stop arresting candidates.
The number of opposition candidates detained, the reasons for which they were detained and the place of their detention are unknown.
According to the VOA Amharic report, the party asked for the support of the diplomatic community. He was quoted as saying that “the party will uphold the peaceful struggle until the creation of Ethiopia which is attractive to all its citizens and called for adequate support from members of the diplomatic community who are working to create a stable country.”
The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a radical ethnic Oromo Nationalist Party, has been making similar allegations about harassment of its members by the ruling party. The party has not yet announced whether it will not participate in the elections.
The sixth general election was scheduled for August 2020, but was postponed following a recommendation from a constitutional inquiry committee due to the coronavirus situation in the country. The inquiry committee was appointed after the National Electoral Board informed parliament that it cannot carry out election-related activities under the state of emergency introduced to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease in the country.
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