Ethiopia at the polls for legislative and regional elections, a “first free ballot”

Published on : 06/21/2021 – 01:22

Ethiopians are being called to the polls on Monday, June 21, for regional and legislative elections that the prime minister presented as proof of his commitment to democracy after decades of repressive rule in Africa’s second most populous country.

Abiy Ahmed, 44, implemented important political and economic reforms after his appointment in 2018 by the governing coalition. But some activists believe that civil rights are being reversed and denounce abuses in the conflict in the Tigray region, accusations the government rejects.

Last week, the prime minister described the poll as “the first attempt at free and fair elections” in Ethiopia, whose once prosperous economy has been heavily affected by the violence in the country and the coronavirus health crisis.

The opposition calls for a boycott of the ballot

These elections could have an impact beyond Ethiopia’s borders, as the country carries significant diplomatic weight in the volatile region, providing peacekeepers to Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan.

Abiy Ahmed’s party, the newly formed Prosperity Party, is favored in an election where the candidates are numerous and mainly from small ethnic parties.

In some areas, such as Oromiya, the country’s most populous province, opposition parties have called for a boycott of the ballot, denouncing alleged intimidation by security forces.

Elsewhere, due to voter registration problems and ethnic violence, elections were postponed in one-fifth of the country’s 547 constituencies. In 64 of them, the vote was postponed to September 6.

As for the 38 constituencies of Tigray, where war has been raging for more than seven months, no election date has been set.

With AFP and Reuters