World IN BRIEF : ETHIOPIA : Boycott Mars First Multi-Party Election

Thousands of Ethiopians voted in this country’s first multi-party election, but an ethnically based opposition party boycotted the polls, and one of its leaders warned that a new civil war could erupt over what he called “cruel and illegal” voting. Diplomats and other observers here said they were bracing for possible violence, but no incidents were reported. Results in the regional elections are not expected for several days. The elections had been considered a crucial stage of a U.S.-brokered peace accord calling for Ethiopia’s transition to democracy after two decades of Marxist dictatorship.