Leaders of seven Ethiopian religious institutions on Wednesday issued joint calls for peace and calm during parliamentary polls slated for May 24.
"The age-old culture of understanding, tolerance and peaceful co-existence in the face of diversity should be maintained in the political competition," Zerihun Degu, secretary-general of the Ethiopian Interfaith Council, said at a meeting in Addis Ababa.
The council brings together all of the country's faith-based institutions.
He went on to urge the ruling EPRDF – along with other political parties – to "respect the decision of the electorate."
Ethiopian Orthodox Church Patriarch Abune Mathias, for his part, said peace was vital to maintaining the momentum of development projects currently underway in the country.
Sheikh Mohamed Amin Jemal, head of the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, called on rival political parties to put the national interest before all else, despite their political differences.
Ethiopia is set to conduct its fifth parliamentary elections next month, in which 58 parties will vie for 547 seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives and seats on the country's regional councils.
Some 36.8 million registered voters are expected to cast ballots at 45,000 polling stations nationwide.
Other religious institutions to sign the appeal were the Ethiopian Catholic Church and the Baptist, apostolic and evangelical churches.
The event was also attended by representatives of Ethiopia's National Electoral Board and the representatives of several political parties.
It is the second time for Ethiopian religious leaders to come together to issue such an appeal.
The first such call was made ahead of 2010 parliamentary polls, when religious leaders issued a similar appeal for electoral peace in hopes of averting the violence that marred 2005 polls.
By Addis Getachew
Source: turkishweekly.net
"The age-old culture of understanding, tolerance and peaceful co-existence in the face of diversity should be maintained in the political competition," Zerihun Degu, secretary-general of the Ethiopian Interfaith Council, said at a meeting in Addis Ababa.
The council brings together all of the country's faith-based institutions.
He went on to urge the ruling EPRDF – along with other political parties – to "respect the decision of the electorate."
Ethiopian Orthodox Church Patriarch Abune Mathias, for his part, said peace was vital to maintaining the momentum of development projects currently underway in the country.
Sheikh Mohamed Amin Jemal, head of the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, called on rival political parties to put the national interest before all else, despite their political differences.
Ethiopia is set to conduct its fifth parliamentary elections next month, in which 58 parties will vie for 547 seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives and seats on the country's regional councils.
Some 36.8 million registered voters are expected to cast ballots at 45,000 polling stations nationwide.
Other religious institutions to sign the appeal were the Ethiopian Catholic Church and the Baptist, apostolic and evangelical churches.
The event was also attended by representatives of Ethiopia's National Electoral Board and the representatives of several political parties.
It is the second time for Ethiopian religious leaders to come together to issue such an appeal.
The first such call was made ahead of 2010 parliamentary polls, when religious leaders issued a similar appeal for electoral peace in hopes of averting the violence that marred 2005 polls.
By Addis Getachew
Source: turkishweekly.net
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