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May 31 (Bloomberg) -- Sudan has handed over 48 Ethiopian rebels trained in Eritrea to the authorities in Addis Ababa, state-run television news reported.

Sudanese security forces arrested the rebels on May 17 while they were trying to enter Ethiopia to carry out attacks aimed at disrupting its May 23 elections, Ethiopian television said on May 29, citing the National Intelligence and Security Service.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling party and allies won 544 out of 546 seats in parliament, according to provisional results. A European Union observation mission said last week the election campaign didn’t meet “international commitments.”

Ethiopia and Eritrea have not had direct relations since fighting a 1998-2000 border war that killed an estimated 70,000 people.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa at jmclure@bloomberg.net.

Meles, who has led Ethiopia since 1991, urged the opposition to accept the results and desist from causing trouble.
“I believe that the people of Ethiopia... have unequivocally sent a clear message to the opposition parties in our country”, he told a cheering crowd.
“They must accept the decision of our people and not become tools of external forces that don’t have the right to act as the ultimate judges of our elections”.
Meles’ ruling EPRDF party won 499 seats out of 536 constituencies whose results were announced last Tuesday electoral commission chief Merga Bekana.

The rest were taken by other political groups. The country has a 547-member lower house.
“Only one out of 536 was [won by] Medrek and that was in Addis Ababa”, said Merga, referring to the opposition coalition.
But the opposition charged the 55-year-old prime minister had rigged his way to re-election in Sunday’s polls.

“I don’t see any reason why we should accept the results that were completely fraudulent”, said Merara Gudina, one of Medrek’s leaders.
“They took over all aspects of the electoral administration, including the count”, he complained, in reference to the EPRDF.
In 2005, the opposition scored its best showing ever and claimed Meles stole the vote, sparking violence that left 200 people dead and drew international criticism of the Horn of Africa’s ruling regime.

The European Union observation mission on Tuesday took a tougher line than on election day and said the campaign and the polls were marked by restrictions on political freedom and the unfair use of state resources.

Thijs Berman, head of the EU monitoring team, said the polls were “marred by narrowing political space and [an] uneven political field”.
“The separation between the ruling party and the administration was blurred in many cases at the local level”, Berman added. “The EU observed the use of state resources for the campaign”.

He said voting “fell short of certain international commitments, notably regarding the transparency of the process and lack of a level playing field for all contesting parties”.

That view was echoed by the United States, where the top US diplomat for Africa, Johnnie Carson, said the polls were “not up to international standards”.
The violence that swept the country five years ago has left the opposition weakened, with many of its leaders jailed or exiled and its supporters wary of further bloodshed.

Another top Medrek leader said his movement did not plan to take its protest to the streets but rather to the electoral commission (NEBE).
“What we are going to do after we get the results is that we give our statement and, if we have evidence, we’ll appeal to the NEBE. If it doesn’t solve our problem, we’ll go to court”, Negasso Gidada said.

“We are not going to call for demonstration or rallies but just follow the legal process”, he added.
But Meles’ supporters dismissed the criticism and turned out in big numbers for the victory rally.
“We have chosen our leaders, accept the results!” read placards addressed to foreign observers and hoisted by the crowd at the ruling coalition’s victory rally.