PRIME Minister Abiy Ahmed said he hoped Ethiopia’s national and regional elections on Monday would prove the success of democratic reforms, but an opposition boycott, war, ethnic violence and logistical challenges overshadowed the vote in some regions.
Authorities were unable to hold elections in four of Ethiopia’s 10 regions, said election board chief Birtukan Midekssa.
In two of the regions that did vote, opposition observers were reportedly chased away from many polling stations, she said.
“This will jeopardise the credibility of the election process,” she warned.
Abiy’s newly formed national Prosperity Party is widely expected to win, as it faces a fragmented opposition of dozens of mostly ethnically-based parties. Currently the ruling coalition and its allies hold all 547 national parliamentary seats.
A credible poll would burnish Abiy’s international image, which reached its zenith after he won the Nobel prize in 2019 for making peace with neighbouring Eritrea but has
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