official results the EPRDF secured a mere 59.7% of the seats in parliament. Following the refusal of major opposition parties to join parliament, who demanded the EPRDF relinquish power and called for nationwide protests, the tension and street violence quickly escalated. The government's violent crackdown on the opposition was followed by what seemed to be a permanent course-reversal on democratic gains. The violent end of the 2005 elections ushered in a decade in which the EPRDF would win almost all seats in parliament justified under the broad rubric of “Revolutionary Democracy”. The doctrine of Revolutionary Democracy was considered an official ideology and was being incorporated into the legal system until Abiy Ahmed assumed the premiership in April 2018. 2010 general elections A parliamentary election took place on 23 May 2010. , preliminary election results indicated that the ruling EPRDF party had won 499 of the 536 seats in parliament. The provisional results indicated the EPRDF had won a landslide victory in 9 of the 11 regions and cities. 90% of eligible voters participated the election. Chief European Union (EU) observer Thijs Berman reported that the elections were "peaceful and well organised", but noted an "uneven playing field" and criticized the use of state resources in the EPRDF campaign. The EU received numerous reports of intimidation and harassment, but indicated that this did not necessarily affect the outcome of the elections. The eight-party Medrek coalition won only a single seat in the capital Addis Ababa. Medrek had expected better results in the Oromia Region. Medrek leader Merera Gudina rejected the election results as being "completely fraudulent" and indicated that the coalition is considering what action to take. Human Rights Watch had condemned the election as "multi-party theatre staged by a single party state". Election and government officials have denied such charges. Opposition leaders have claimed that their supporters have been subject to harassment and beatings. In March 2010, an opposition politician was stabbed to death, but the government blamed the killing on a personal dispute. A Wall Street Journal article suggests that Medrek had spent much of its energy on coalition-building. International reporters have given the election wide media coverage. African Union (AU) election observers reported that the election was completely "free and fair" and met all AU election standards. In spite of the opposition's objections, the AU stated that the election "reflected voters' will." The AU observers also reported that