By Dawit EndeshawADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia has postponed parliamentary elections scheduled for August due to the coronavirus outbreak, the electoral board said on Tuesday, a move endorsed by some key opposition parties. "Due to the pandemic we were forced to suspend our activities," said an Amharic-language statement from the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia. Abiy promised to liberalise the state-run economy and oversaw reforms that freed thousands of political prisoners, journalists and opposition activists. Previous elections in Ethiopia, a parliamentary democracy, have been marred by allegations of rigging and intimidation. William Davison, the International Crisis Group think tank's senior analyst for Ethiopia, said the election postponement could be used to strengthen Ethiopian democracy.

Source: Ethiopian News March 31, 2020 16:44 UTC