Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 07:57 am
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has won a landslide victory in the country’s postponed elections, according to the election authority. Mr. Abiy’s Prosperity Party won 410 out of 436 seats, granting him another five-year term in office, according to the board. However, due to instability and logistical issues, one-fifth of the country was unable to vote.
In the war-torn Tigray province, where tens of thousands are starving, polls were not held. In the affected areas, new elections have been scheduled for September 6, but no date has been set for Tigray.
In October, a new government is anticipated to be created. There are, however, doubts regarding the election’s fairness. Opposition parties had claimed that the government’s crackdown on its personnel had thrown their election preparations into disarray.
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Berhanu Nega claimed his Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice party has submitted more than 200 complaints after local officials and militiamen banned observers in a number of districts.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which is associated with the government, declared there were “no major or widespread human rights breaches” in the stations it visited.
However, the EHRC stated in a preliminary assessment that “improper arrests,” voter intimidation, and “harassment” of observers and journalists occurred in some constituencies. It further stated that many homicides had occurred in the days leading up to the referendum in the Oromia regional state.
Ethiopia was accused by the EU in May of failing to ensure the independence of its elections
