Polls open in Ethiopia's Sidama region, counting continues elsewhere
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[June 22, 2021]
By Dawit Endeshaw and Ayenat Mersie
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Voters in
Ethiopia's Sidama region went to the polls a day late on Tuesday as
officials counted ballots from other regions in an election marred by an
opposition boycott, war and reports of irregularities in some areas.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hopes the national and regional elections will
show the success of democratic reforms he launched after being appointed
by the ruling coalition in 2018.
But the vote also reflects a messy reality in the country of 109 million
people. Authorities could not hold polls on Monday in four of Ethiopia's
10 regions including Sidama, where there were logistical problems,
according to the election board.
"Democracy is not built in a day. We are laying it brick by brick," Abiy
said in a written statement late on Monday.
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"No matter who wins, Ethiopians from all over the country have voted for
whomever they choose, without any fear and without any kind of pressure.
And because of that, Ethiopia is triumphant," said Abiy.
There was no comment from him on Tuesday morning and his spokeswoman did
not immediately respond to a request for comment as counting proceeded.
In two regions where voting did happen, opposition observers were
reportedly chased away from many polling stations, board chief Birtukan
Midekssa told reporters late on Monday. The board was scheduled to hold
a news conference at 2 p.m. (1100 GMT).
Abiy's newly formed national Prosperity Party is widely forecast to
defeat the fragmented opposition of dozens of mostly ethnically based
parties. The ruling coalition and its allies hold all 547 national
parliamentary seats.
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![](../images/062221PIX/news_v41.jpg)
Election officials empty a ballot box during the Ethiopian
parliamentary and regional elections, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, June
21, 2021. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo
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Though the prime minister won the Nobel prize in 2019
for making peace with neighbouring Eritrea, his international
reputation has been tarnished since conflict erupted in the northern
Tigray region in November.
Fighting between Ethiopia's military and the region's former
governing party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), has
forced more than 2 million people from their homes, and the United
Nations reports there is a famine looming. No date has been set for
elections in Tigray.
The opposition alleged some irregularities in regions that voted.
Opposition leader Berhanu Nega said his Ethiopian Citizens for
Social Justice party (Ezema) had filed 207 complaints after local
officials and militia in Amhara region and in the Southern Nations,
Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, blocked party observers, he
said.
(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw and Ayenat Mersie, Additional reporting
by Giulia Paravicini, Writing by Maggie Fick, Editing by Timothy
Heritage)
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