Voters in Ethiopia yesterday cast their ballots in a delayed national election taking place against the backdrop of war and famine in the northern Tigray region, as well as questions over the poll’s credibility.
It is the first electoral test for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, 44, who rose to power in 2018 championing a democratic revival in Africa’s second-most populous nation, and a break from its authoritarian past.
“This election is different,” said Milyon Gebregziabher, a 45-year-old travel agent voting in the center of the capital, Addis Ababa. “There are a number of parties to choose from. In the past there was just one, we did not have the luxury of choice.”
Photo: Reuters
Abiy, a Nobel Peace laureate who freed political prisoners, welcomed back exiles and ended a long cold war with neighboring Eritrea before sending troops to confront the dissident leadership of Tigray late last year, has promised the poll would be Ethiopia’s most competitive in history, free of the repression that marred previous ballots.
However, the specter of famine caused by the ongoing fighting in Tigray, and the failure to stage elections on schedule in about one-fifth of constituencies, means that promise is in doubt.
Polling began in Addis Ababa soon after the expected start time of 6am with voters wearing masks and wrapped in blankets against the chill.
Electoral officials in purple vests sprayed voters’ hands with sanitizer before checking their IDs against the register.
“I believe this election will shine a light of democracy on Ethiopia,” said Yordanos Berhanu, a 26-year-old accountant at the head of a line of hundreds.
“As a young Ethiopian, I [have] hope for the future of my country and believe voting is part of that,” she said before slipping her ballot papers into a purple plastic box for the national vote and a light green one for the regional election.
In Bahir Dar, capital of the northwestern Amhara region which neighbors Tigray, voters said that peace and economic growth were the priorities.
“No matter who wins, we want peace,” 25-year-old jobseeker Mirkuz Gashaw said.
“As a citizen, I hope our country prospers and grows,” said first-time voter Etsubdink Sisay, 18, who lined up with her mother.
Once the votes are counted, national lawmakers elect the prime minister, who is head of government, as well as the president, a largely ceremonial role.
Abiy’s ruling Prosperity Party has fielded the most candidates for the national parliamentary race, and is the firm favorite to win a majority and form the next government.
Security was ramped up for the election, with police marching in force in Addis Ababa over the weekend, and reinforcements deployed nationwide.
The election was twice delayed — once for the COVID-19 pandemic and again to allow more time to organize the ballot across a huge nation.
About 38 million Ethiopians are registered to vote, but polls are not going ahead in close to one-fifth of the nation’s 547 constituencies, with some areas deemed too insecure — plagued by armed insurgencies and ethnic violence — while in others logistical setbacks made arranging a vote in time impossible.
A second batch of voting is to take place on Sept. 6 to accommodate many of the districts not taking part yesterday, but there is no election date set for Tigray, where UN agencies say 350,000 people face famine conditions and atrocities have been documented.
The northernmost region represents 38 seats in the national parliament and has been governed by an interim administration since November last year, when Abiy sent troops into Tigray, promising a swift campaign to oust its ruling party.
Seven months later the conflict drags on, damaging Abiy’s standing as a peacemaker and overshadowing a vote meant to broadcast his nation’s democratic intent.
Vote counting was due to start soon after polls closed, but the results are not expected for days.
Concerns about credibility have been raised, with traditional ally the US saying that excluding so many voters risked confidence in the process.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence. Xi’s visit to Russia would be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for
Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years, Tokyo said yesterday. From Thursday morning to afternoon, the Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea toward the southern Okinawa region, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. They then traveled north over the Pacific Ocean and finished their journey off the northern island of Hokkaido, it added. The planes did not enter Japanese airspace, but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, a ministry official said. “In response, we mobilized Air Self-Defense
CRITICISM: ‘One has to choose the lesser of two evils,’ Pope Francis said, as he criticized Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and Harris’ pro-choice position Pope Francis on Friday accused both former US president Donald Trump and US Vice President Kamala Harris of being “against life” as he returned to Rome from a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. The 87-year-old pontiff’s comments on the US presidential hopefuls came as he defied health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore. It was Francis’ longest trip in duration and distance since becoming head of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics more than 11 years ago. Despite the marathon visit, he held a long and spirited
China would train thousands of foreign law enforcement officers to see the world order “develop in a more fair, reasonable and efficient direction,” its minister for public security has said. “We will [also] send police consultants to countries in need to conduct training to help them quickly and effectively improve their law enforcement capabilities,” Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong (王小洪) told an annual global security forum. Wang made the announcement in the eastern city of Lianyungang on Monday in front of law enforcement representatives from 122 countries, regions and international organizations such as Interpol. The forum is part of ongoing