Delays in investigating the killing of dozens of Ethiopians who were protesting against alleged electoral fraud may lead to loss of evidence and testimony from victims and witnesses, a congressman from New Jersey said Wednesday. 

    Prime Minister Meles promised an independent inquiry into three days of deadly protests that started June 6 against alleged fraud in May's parliamentary elections. Security forces shot at demonstrators, killing at least 36. 

    U.S Representative Chris Smith, a Republican, said he is concerned that officials have not begun the inquiry more than two months after what he described as the "slaughter." 

    "As each day goes by, we become more skeptical that an honest investigation can be undertaken and part of that reason is you also tend to lose evidence and memories fade," Smith, chairman of the House of Representatives subcommittee on Africa, told The Associated Press. 

    "We want truth and transparency," Smith said after meeting Meles and opposition leaders. 

    Last week, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia said that Meles's Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front and its allies had won the majority needed to form a government _ capturing 318 seats in the 547-member body. The opposition said it may challenge those results in court. 

    Those results were announced following weeks of investigations into allegations of vote rigging. The electoral board added the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy won 109 seats; another opposition group, the United Ethiopian Democratic Front, won 52 seats; and other parties won 13 seats. 

    The board said it will rerun elections in 31 seats and hold polls in Ethiopia's Somali region. Heavy rains and the nomadic lifestyle of residents in the remote region made it difficult to hold the vote in the Somali region when the rest of the country cast ballots. 

    Smith urged authorities to respect the opposition. 

    "Stop following them, stop intimidating individuals who are supporters," he said. "Nobody in politics likes opponents but that is the price of democracy." 

    Smith, who ended a four-day visit Wednesday, will brief U.S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and urge the administration to keep diplomatic pressure on Ethiopia to ensure democracy takes root here. 

    "Friends don't let friends commit human rights abuses," Smith said before traveling to Sudan where he is scheduled to meet President Omar el-Bashir and assess the humanitarian crisis in the troubled Darfur region.