More than a million voters are getting registered across the nation on daily basis to cast their votes in the 4th national elections scheduled for next May, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has said.

NEBE Public Relations Head, Mohammed Abdurahman said on Thursday that 17.5 million voters have so far been registered since the beginning of the registration January 9, 2010.

There are 32 million illegible voters expected to be registered to cast their votes in a secret ballot.
Mohammed said if the number of people being registered goes as the present pace, the number of voters might reach more than 32 million in a short period of time.

The PR Head attributed to the registration of such a large number of voters to the establishment of polling stations in places more convenient to voters than that of the previous election period.

The increase in the number of polling stations and constituencies is the other factor for the success.
According to Mohammed, 27 different political parties with a cumulative candidates of 671 who will compete for seats in the federal parliament have been registered. Twenty-two and eight independent candidates will compete for the seats in the federal and regional state councils respectively.

The coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), Forum, the Oromo National Congress (ONC), the Ethiopian Peace and Democratic Party (EPDP), the All Ethiopia Democratic Party (AEDP), are some of the parties who will compete in the forthcoming national elections. (ENA)