Ethiopians vote in what government bills as first free election
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[June 21, 2021]
By Dawit Endeshaw and Ayenat Mersie
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia held
elections on Monday billed by the prime minister as proof of his
commitment to democracy after decades of repressive rule, although
voting was delayed due to violence in some areas and opposition parties
boycotted the poll in others.
Election board chief Birtukan Midekssa said voting was mostly peaceful
so far, but that several opposition parties had complained their agents
were beaten and their badges confiscated in Amhara region and the
Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region. She did not say
who was responsible.
"This will jeopardise the credibility of the election process and its
result," Birtukan warned. "Local officials and law enforcement officers
should immediately take corrective measures."
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said last week the national and regional votes
would be the "first attempt at free and fair elections" in Ethiopia,
whose once booming economy has been hit by conflict and the COVID-19
pandemic.
But ethnic violence and printing mistakes have delayed elections in a
fifth of constituencies, including all of those in Tigray, where
Ethiopia's military has been fighting the northern region's former
governing party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), since
November.
In Oromiya, Ethiopia's most populous province, the largest opposition
parties are boycotting the vote over what they say is intimidation by
regional security forces.
Government officials did not return calls seeking comment about the
allegations of intimidation.
Voting was mostly smooth in Addis Ababa, although nine polling stations
opened late and some did not have enough ballots, Birtukan told a news
conference.
Abiy, 45, oversaw sweeping political and economic reforms after his
appointment in 2018 by the ruling coalition. But some rights activists
say those gains are being reversed and he is coming under increasing
international pressure over reports of abuses in the war in Tigray.
Abiy has said the government will hold anyone committing abuses in
Tigray to account and the attorney general says more than 50 soldiers
are on trial for either rape or killing civilians. No details of those
cases have been released.
Results of the vote could reverberate beyond Ethiopia.
The Horn of Africa nation is a diplomatic heavyweight in a volatile
region, providing peacekeepers to Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan. With
Africa's second-biggest population, over a third aged under 18, it is
also a major frontier market.
A CROWDED FIELD
Abiy's newly-formed Prosperity Party is the frontrunner in a crowded
field of candidates mostly from smaller, ethnically-based parties.
Billboards with his party's lightbulb symbol scatter the capital.
Former political prisoner Berhanu Nega is the only other prominent
candidate not running on an ethnic ticket. But his Ethiopian Citizens
for Social Justice party has struggled to attract support outside
cities.
"People are out in big numbers to vote," Berhanu told Reuters after
casting his ballot, saying his party was watching the process closely.
During the last election, the ruling coalition and its allies won all
547 seats. This time, more than 37 million of Ethiopia's 109 million
people are registered to vote, choosing from 46 parties for parliament.
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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed casts a ballot during the
Ethiopian parliamentary and regional elections, at a polling station
in the town of Beshasha, Ethiopia June 21, 2021. REUTERS/Tiksa
Negeri
Violence prevented voter registration in some areas.
The electoral board says more than 9,000 candidates are running this
time - more than in any previous vote.
A second round of voting will take place in September for most
constituencies where the vote was delayed.
No date has been set for voting in Tigray, where the United Nations
says some 350,000 people face famine.
U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet said she expected a probe into
reports of rights violations by "all parties to the conflict" in
Tigray to be published in August.
The report is a joint investigation by the UN and the
state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.
Tigray is not Abiy's only challenge. Ethnic violence in other
regions has killed thousands since he took power.
Marketing director Yetayew Solomon, 30, told Reuters as he waited in
line in the capital: "I will vote for a party that I think will
bring peace."
DEMOCRACY AND THE ECONOMY
Abiy's reforms include lifting a ban on dozens of political parties
and media outlets, releasing tens of thousands of political
prisoners and easing restrictions on political gatherings.
But Fisseha Tekle from rights group Amnesty International said the
government was still quashing dissent using a revised anti-terrorism
law and new hate speech legislation that allows prison terms for
online content.
"The government is using these laws to arrest people and keep them
in prison for a long time," Fisseha said.
Abiy's spokewoman Billene Seyoum did not immediately respond to a
request for comment but previously told Reuters: "There is no
perfect environment; however, it cannot be said that a nascent
democracy like Ethiopia is regressing."
Many voters said they were also concerned about the economy.
Abiy has promised to bring in foreign investment and speed up
electrification by filling a giant $4 billion hydropower dam on the
Blue Nile, stoking tension with Egypt and Sudan, which fear the Nile
water supplies they rely on might be interrupted.
But annual inflation is now about 20% and growth is forecast at just
2% this year after topping 10% before the pandemic.
"The cost of living is increasing," said shopkeeper Murad Merga,
whose window was crowded with ruling party posters. But he remained
upbeat: "Everything will be fixed step by step."
(Writing by Giulia Paravicini; Editing by Katharine Houreld, Edmund
Blair and Catherine Evans)
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