Some 85 percent of eligible electorates in Southwest Shoa Zone of the Oromia State have already received Voters’ ID Cards to cast votes in the upcoming national elections, the zonal election coordinating office said.

Office coordinator, Kebede Ergossa announced on Friday that close to 370,000 electorates were registered at 682 polling stations of the zone until 03 Feb. 2010. He said some 169,670 of the registered voters are women. Meanwhile, he said, six contesting political parties operating in the zone have so far fielded 53 candidates running for the seats of the federal and regional councils.