Ethiopia Votes in Greatest Electoral Test Yet for Abiy

Ethiopia was voting Monday in the greatest electoral test yet for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as war and logistical issues meant ballots wouldn't be cast in more than 100 constituencies of the 547 across the country.

The election, delayed from last year, is the centerpiece of a reform drive by Abiy, whose rise to power in 2018 seemed to signal a break with decades of authoritarian rule and led to him winning a Nobel Peace Prize the following year. He has described the poll as “the nation’s first attempt at free and fair elections.”

Long lines of voters were seen in some parts of the capital, Addis Ababa, while security was stepped up across Africa's second most populous country. Military vehicles were parked in key locations in the capital. More than 37 million Ethiopians were expected to vote, The Associated Press reported.

“We need a government that brings us peace, unity and that will stop the killing everywhere, and we also need to be pulled out from these ethnic divisions," voter Desalgn Shume said.

Abiy’s ruling Prosperity Party, formed in 2019 by merging groups who made up the previous ruling coalition, is widely expected to cement its hold on power. The party that wins a majority of seats in the House of Peoples’ Representatives will form the next government.

Opposition groups have accused Ethiopia’s ruling party of harassment, manipulation and threats of violence that echo abuses of the past. Some prominent opposition parties are boycotting the election, notably in the country's most populous region, Oromia. Others say they were prevented from campaigning in several parts of the country.

“My expectation is that (the election) would hopefully, with minor difficulties, be completed in a credible way,” opposition candidate Berhanu Nega with the Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice party said while voting.

Ethiopia's election chief, Birtukan Midekssa, writing in The National Interest, acknowledged “serious challenges” but noted that more parties and candidates are contesting than ever before. “I call on the international community to support Ethiopia on its democratic journey, stressful and imperfect though it is,” she wrote in the US-based magazine.

Abiy also is facing growing international criticism over the war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, sparked in part because Tigray's now-fugitive leaders objected to Ethiopia postponing the election last year while citing COVID-19. No date has been set for voting in Tigray’s 38 constituencies.

Tigray’s former leaders, who are fighting Ethiopian forces and those from neighboring Eritrea, have reported fierce new combat in recent days. Ethiopia’s defense forces have called the fighting challenging because of the rough terrain. Thousands of civilians have been killed and famine has begun in what observers describe as a drawn-out guerrilla war.

Abiy’s Prosperity Party registered 2,432 candidates in the election. The next largest party, Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice, was fielding 1,385 candidates. A total of 47 parties were contesting.

“Last time we didn’t have a choice, but this is totally different,” voter Girmachew Asfaw said.