Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA (EI) — Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and members of the Ethiopian defense forces are casting their ballots on Tuesday as part of Ethiopia’s seventh general election, ahead of the official announcement of results by election authorities.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), in a statement, announced that as part of the seventh general elections, IDPs and members of the Ethiopian defense forces had registered to participate in the election under special arrangements made by the board, with voting underway on Tuesday at special polling stations established in IDP and military camps.
Ethiopia’s 7th general elections were primarily held on June 1 across the country. Data from the NEBE showed that more than 54 million eligible voters had registered to participate in the elections, while a total of 42 political parties contested in the general election, fielding more than 10,000 candidates for seats in the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HoPR) and regional legislatures, alongside independent contestants.
The NEBE announced that it is currently in the process of verifying the results coming from constituency offices, examining the audited results, and entering the verified results into its database.
The board further disclosed that it is organizing and hearing testimonials concerning complaints submitted by political parties and individual candidates through a legal expert committee.
Election results that have passed these processes will be submitted to the board ahead of their announcement to the public upon the board’s decision and approval, according to the NEBE.
Voters in Ethiopia primarily elect members of the House of Peoples’ Representatives and various regional state councils, where the political party or coalition that secures the majority of seats in the legislative branch of the country’s parliament will form a government.
The political party or coalition with the majority of seats will eventually select the country’s prime minister, who will assume the highest office in the country as the head of government.
Out of the total 547 seats in the HoPR, 501 seats are up for grabs during the current general election. According to the NEBE, elections were not carried out in some constituencies due to security reasons.
With some experts highlighting the fragmented state of opposition political parties contesting in Ethiopia’s seventh general elections, the ruling Prosperity Party (PP) is widely expected to secure the majority of seats in the House of Peoples’ Representatives.
According to observers from the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), who were deployed across different parts of the country to monitor the electoral process, Ethiopia’s 7th general election was conducted in a generally “peaceful and orderly manner.”
“Overall, the mission observed that voting was conducted in a peaceful, transparent, and orderly manner, although operational and accessibility challenges were noted in some polling stations,” said Uhuru Kenyatta, former Kenyan president and head of the AU Election Observation Mission to Ethiopia, while presenting the report on Wednesday.
[Cover Photo from the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) shows Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Ethiopia’s Somali region waiting to cast their ballots on Tuesday, June 8, as part of the country’s seventh general election.]
