Tens of thousands of ruling party supporters rallied Tuesday in Ethiopia's capital to celebrate victory in the national election, while the chief EU observer said the poll had been marred by an uneven playing field.

A top opposition leader denounced the provisional results released by the Ethiopian elections board, but did not indicate what action his party would take.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi arrived midmorning at the main square in Addis Ababa and addressed the crowd as hundreds of blue-uniformed federal police stood guard.

"We'll not boast about our victory, but we'll add to the burden of work that we have to deliver for the next five years," said Meles, who seized power in a 1991 coup.

The European Union mission said Tuesday that the weekend vote had been peaceful, but that there were inequalities that favoured the ruling party leading up to the election.

Complaints of violence, harassment
Thijs Berman, the EU's chief observer, said they had received a number of complaints of violence and harassment.

"The sheer volume and consistency of these complaints is a matter of concern," Berman told journalists, noting Ethiopia's lack of a national voter list. "These shortcomings lead us to the conclusion that this electoral process falls short of certain international commitments," he said.

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch also had criticized Sunday's vote, saying voters were told they could lose food assistance, public-sector jobs, loans and educational opportunities if they voted against the ruling party.

Ethiopian election officials said they witnessed no irregularities, and government spokesman Bereket Simon said the election was free and fair.