Overview
- The vote, which began Monday, June 1, drew millions to roughly 52,000 polling stations set up by the National Election Board of Ethiopia while the northern Tigray region did not participate at all.
- NEBE said security problems kept 143 polling stations from opening and interrupted voting at others, with ballots also cancelled in multiple constituencies in Amhara and Oromia because of fighting involving Fano, the Oromo Liberation Army and the TPLF.
- Analysts and reporters say Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party is widely expected to win a large majority given a fragmented, under-resourced opposition and many constituencies where the ruling party faces little or no serious challenger.
- The African Union and IGAD sent observer teams led by Uhuru Kenyatta while the government declined an EU mission and restricted some foreign press access, complicating outside verification of voting in conflict zones.
- Human rights bodies have documented war crimes in recent years and transitional justice is stalled, which means the June 11 results could deepen questions about accountability, popular trust and Ethiopia’s role as a regional power.