Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Saturday the process of democracy building in Ethiopia goes on unperturbedly in spite of attempts of opposition leaders to detract the path.

The ongoing democratization in the country is moving on as implementation of the main works to safeguard the path from sabotage get well underway, Meles said in his report to the lower House of People's Representatives (HPR).

He said the plan to create up-to-the-standard democratic institutions and laws is being implemented smoothly with the support also of foreign consultants.

A group of experts from Canada, Britain, Germany and India has already submitted its first report of the planned review of the procedures and ethic guideline of the HPR, Meles said.

He said efforts have got well underway to get another planned study on the press law by consultants from these four countries. A contract is expected to be concluded with the prospective consultants soon to launch the study in the coming two or three weeks, said Meles.

He also said the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia was employing foreign consultants, who would launch studies enabling to build its execution capacity in the coming one or two weeks.

Meles indicated the need to see the culture of democracy to blossom side by side with the decisive works of building democratic institutions and to continually improving their workings-on towards strengthening the democratization.

All should operate under the supremacy of the rule of law, he said, adding that political parties have significant roles to play toward creating such a democratic system. The ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Party (EPRDF), Meles said, had had dialogues with the major opposition parties like UEDF and OFDM, and after a series of meetings it was possible to arrive at agreement on detailed agenda and procedures.

He said efforts were made to help those who were in the largest opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD).

On Saturday, Meles' report was endorsed with 364 votes for, 112 against and 19 abstentions, after parliament members held in-depth discussions on it.

During the street violence in the country's capital Addis Ababa and some other cities in November last year, in which police clashed with opposition supporters, at least 46 people died. The violence began on November 1 amid protests over the parliamentary elections.

CUD has been boycotting the House of People's Representatives, saying it wants a solution to the contested results of the parliamentary elections.

The final election results indicate that the ruling EPRDF, which has ruled the country for the past 14 years, has won 327 seats of the 547-seat HPR, enough to form the federal government.

CUD and another opposition party, the United Ethiopian Democratic Force (UEDF), were in second and third places with 109 and 52 seats respectively. They held only 12 seats before.

The two major opposition parties accuse the ruling party of massive electoral fraud.

Source: Xinhua