Abiy Ahmed Ali.Image: keystone
June 1, 2026, 7:04 a.mJune 1, 2026, 7:04 a.m
Parliamentary elections have begun in Ethiopia, with renewed success expected for the party of controversial Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali. Around 50 million eligible voters have been able to cast their votes since six in the morning. Nobody expects any surprises with the outcome of the election in Africa’s second most populous country. Prime Minister Abiy, in office since 2018, is likely to emerge victorious from the election this time with his Prosperity Party (PP). The result must be announced by June 11th.
The widely expected election victory of the Nobel Peace Prize winner, who led his country in the Horn of Africa into a bloody civil war with around 600,000 deaths in the northern Tigray region, is also due to the lack of promising opposing candidates who are allowed to take part in the election. Armed groups in the Oromia and Amhara regions are blocking roads to prevent participation in the election as they protest that their political leaders are in prison.
The former civil war region of Tigray will not take part in the election for the second time after being excluded in 2021. More than 2,000 candidates are running for 502 parliamentary seats in the election. In the 2021 election, 410 of 436 seats went to Abiy’s party. Human rights groups had criticized the election as not free and fair. (sda/dpa)