Ethiopia's rulers secure vote majority

Ethiopia's ruling coalition and allied parties won an absolute majority in the 547-seat parliament during the recent elections, according to the latest results released by the national electoral commission Saturday. According to returns from 453 constituencies, the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi won 269 seats and allies parties another 14 in the May 15 legislative polls.
This gives the ruling coalition 283 seats, well above the absolute majority of 274 in the federal parliament. The country's two main opposition groups, which held only 12 seats in parliament before the election, were credited with 166 seats while one seat went to an independent, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) said.