Overview
- Voting is taking place across most of Ethiopia, with national ballots held on Monday, June 1, 2026, while the National Election Board suspended polling in 46 constituencies, chiefly in Tigray and parts of Amhara, citing unsafe conditions.
- The Prosperity Party led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is widely expected to win a large parliamentary majority because the opposition is fragmented and under organizational and legal strain.
- More than 47 political parties and roughly 10,900 candidates are contesting the vote and NEBE reports over 50 million registered voters, but suspended ballots and insecurity are likely to reduce participation and leave some regions without federal representation.
- An African Union observer team led by former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta is monitoring the election, but rights groups and UN experts have reported serious abuses by government and other forces that critics say undermine the credibility of the process.
- The vote is framed by the government’s economic growth claims — officials project very strong growth for 2026 — and by a recent history of conflict and displacement dating to the 2020–2022 Tigray war, factors that together will shape turnout, legitimacy and regional stability once results are announced on June 11.