Ethiopians flocked to the polls to vote in general elections that are hoped will put the vast Horn of Africa nation known for poverty and famine squarely on the path to democracy.
In the capital, thousands lined up before dawn to wait their turn at local polling stations that opened at 6:00 am (0300 GMT), which in Ethiopia's peculiar system of timekeeping is midnight to locals, and were to close 12 hours later at 6:00 pm (1500 GMT), or noon.
Voters are choosing between Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which has been in power for 14 years, and scores of smaller parties, including those in two main opposition coalitions.
