Ethiopians began voting in parliamentary elections, with the party of outgoing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who is running for another term, expected to win.
Around 50 million voters are eligible to vote in the election for members of parliament, who will in turn select the prime minister.
Dozens of people had gathered before polling stations opened at 6:00 am and are scheduled to close at 6:00 pm.
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed casts his vote in his hometown of Beshasha. Abiy, who has ruled the Horn of Africa nation since 2018, is widely expected to win a landslide victory and secure another term.
He is criticised for growing authoritarianism and a crackdown on dissent, in contrast to his early years when he won the Nobel Peace Prize for mending relations with neighbouring Eritrea.
There were long queues at polling stations in the capital Addis Ababa, with some voters bringing chairs to ease the wait.
Their enthusiasm came as analysts said the vote was little more than a formality to give Abiy another five years in power.
Opposition parties and independent journalists are largely stifled, and the country faces multiple internal conflicts and ethnic divisions.
Eyob Mesafint, ‘Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice’ (EZEMA) opposition party leader, talking about any voting issues, says, “the election process has been more or less on the good side.”
Analysts say the election is likely to be among the least competitive since Ethiopia adopted multiparty democracy in 1991, with the ruling Prosperity Party enjoying a significant advantage over a fragmented opposition made up of more than 40 parties and limited financial resources. In several constituencies, the ruling party is running unopposed.
Results are expected about 10 days after voting ends, with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party seeking to build on its dominant performance in the 2021 election, when it secured 96 percent of parliamentary seats.