Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA (EI) — Voters went to the polls in Ethiopia on Monday, with millions of citizens casting ballots for the country’s seventh general election.
Polling stations were opened at 6:00 a.m. local time throughout Ethiopia, with long queues of voters widely visible since early morning in capital of Addis Ababa and elsewhere across the country.
With more than 54 million eligible voters, the voting process will last for one day, as all workplaces across the country, except essential service providers, will be closed on election day to facilitate smooth voting.
Voters will primarily elect their representatives for the House of Peoples’ Representatives, and members of various regional state councils.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has previously highlighted that a total of 42 political parties have registered more than 10,000 candidates, while 80 independents are also running for the parliament and regional councils.
The political party or coalition that secures the majority of seats in the 547-seats federal parliament will form a government, and approve the country’s prime minister, in line with the country’s parliamentary system. However, elections will not be held in some constituencies, mainly due to security reasons.
International observers, mainly from the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), have been deployed across different parts of the country to monitor the integrity of the electoral process.
The 73-member AU Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) to Ethiopia is led by the former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta.
The AU mission is drawn from 37 African countries. It brought together representatives from African envoys accredited to the AU, officials of election management bodies, members of civil society organizations, election experts, human rights specialists, gender and media experts, as well as representatives of youth organizations, according to the AU.
IGAD, the East African bloc, has also deployed 26-member observes mission, led by Uganda’s former vice president Speciosa Wandira-Kazibwe.
The AU and IGAD observe missions are expected to release their respective preliminary statements on their findings and assessment of the conduct of the election a few days after the general election.
The AUEOM’s final and comprehensive report is expected to come within two months after the election, while the IGAD mission will release its final report after the election board announces results.
