Elections are being held today in four regional states, namely Somali, Benishangul Gumuz, Central Ethiopia, and Afar, as part of the 6th round of the general election that postponed due to security issues in 2021.
The Ethiopian National Election Board (NEBE) announced that voting started at 6:00 AM in this round of the national by-election and re-election.
According to NEBE, 12 political parties are participating in today’s voting process. The board also specified that by-elections are being conducted in the Benishangul Gumuz, Afar, Somali, and Central Ethiopia regions.
In the Afar region, the elections are being conducted in 4 zones, 9 constituencies, and 388 polling stations.
The election coordination office of the region announced that over 550,000 citizens are expected to participate in this election, with four political parties, including the ruling Prosperity Party, taking part.
In the Benishangul Gumuz region, the by-election and re-election are taking place in 3 zones.
Voting at polling stations in Asosa town in Asosa zone began at 6:00 AM. However, NEBE has announced that 40 polling stations in the Benishangul Gumuz region will not open today due to security concerns.
Residents of the Meskan District and Mareko Special District in the Central Ethiopia region also began casting their votes at polling stations from 6:00 AM.
In a statement given yesterday by the Chairperson of the Ethiopian National Election Board, Mrs. Melatwork Hailu, it was noted that there are still areas where elections are not being held due to unresolved security issues.
She stated that the board would work to hold elections in these areas, including the Tigray and Amhara regions, once the security situation is resolved.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia conducted two rounds of national elections in 2021. During the 6th national election, preparations were made to hold re-elections in areas where there were security and credibility problems.
In the national election held on June 22, 2021, the House of People’s Representatives won 410 seats while Amhara National Movement won five and Ethiopian citizens for social justice party won four.
The Gedeo People’s Democratic Organization won two seats in the southern region. At that time, the National Election Board announced that 39 million voters were registered in all constituencies and that 847 million birr were spent on the election.
Unfortunately, five members of the opposition party who won seats in this election and became members of the councils are currently in prison.
