Ethiopia's ruling and opposition parties reached an agreement on June 10 to peacefully conclude the May 15 parliamentary elections, saying that they will act pursuant to public interest, law and constitutional system.

Under the agreement, the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) and the Coalition for Unity and Democracy(CUD) "agreed to wrap up the electoral process in a legal and peaceful manner."

Observers say the deal will be helpful to calm tensions that erupted into deadly violence this week in the capital Addis Ababa.

The UEDF and the CUD, the country's two major opposition parties, accused Prime Minister Meles Zenawi-led EPRDF party of massive electoral fraud, while the ruling party made complaints and accused the opposition of inciting election protests and the violence in which at least 26 people were killed in clashes with police on Wednesday.

The three political parties "reasserted their condemnation of all acts of violence or incitement to violence and agreed to make all possible efforts to prevent such violence or incitement to violence, to exercise restraint, and seek resolution of all issues through legal and peaceful means only," the agreement said.

They also declared "their commitment to the decision-making procedures, established by the proclamation on electoral law for deciding upon complaints of election irregularities and to abide by them," according to the agreement.

They said they would "accept the legal authority of the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) and the courts in those procedures and commit to abide by the decisions they make on the basis of the authority invested in them by the laws of the country, and refrain from all acts intended to subvert such decisions, without prejudice to their constitutional rights."

They added they have noted NEBE's decision to investigate the 299 complaints of electoral irregularities that have been submitted by political parties.

The ruling party retained control of parliament according to official election results that have not yet been ratified.

Source: Xinhua