Ethiopia: Local, parliamentary polls held amid tight security

(SomaliNet) Days after deadly blasts in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the second and final day of voting in Ethiopia\'s local and parliamentary polls was held on Sunday amid tight security.

A day after the first day of voting in the country\'s first elections since the disputed 2005 general polls, three people were killed and 18 wounded when simultaneous bomb blasts went off at two petrol stations on April 14.

An AFP correspondent reported that the Ethiopian authorities blamed the attacks on the separatist Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and beefed up security across the capital on Sunday.

In last week\'s voting, the electoral board claimed a massive turnout of 95 percent. The elections have been marred by accusations of repression against opposition parties, several of which have boycotted the ballot.

About 3,7 million candidates are competing for almost as many local council and parliamentary seats but the remaining opposition groups have only been able to field a few thousand contestants.

In a report issued earlier this month, New York-based Human Rights Watch condemned what it described as \"systemic patterns of repression and abuse that have rendered the elections meaningless in many areas.\"

Opposition parties won an unprecedented number of parliament\'s 547 seats in the 2005 general elections which the European Union and many observers had said fell short of international standards.

Around 200 people died in the ensuing unrest, which erupted after allegations that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi\'s party had rigged the ballot.-AFP