Africa

Home page

Africa

Ethiopia PM Abiy's party wins landslide victory in election

11 July 2021 05:54 (UTC +04:00)

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's Prosperity Party won the most seats in Ethiopia's parliamentary election, the election board said on Saturday, a victory that assures him another term in office, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Abiy hailed the June 21 vote as the country's first free and fair election after decades of repressive rule. However, an opposition boycott, war in the northern region of Tigray, ethnic violence and logistical challenges in some areas overshadowed the election. Voting did not take place in three of Ethiopia's 10 regions.

Abiy's party won 410 of 436 parliamentary seats, election board deputy chairperson Woubshet Ayele announced in the capital Addis Ababa. Chairperson Birtukan Mideksa said the board had delivered a credible election.

Opposition leader Berhanu Nega said his Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice party (Ezema) had filed 207 complaints after local officials and militiamen blocked observers in the Amhara region and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' region.