Saturday 10th July 2021
Election after months of violence
Landslide victory for Ethiopia’s head of government
The election in Ethiopia is overshadowed by the Tigray conflict. The government is accused of severe violence against the local population. But Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s party wins more than clearly.
The party of the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed scored a huge victory in the parliamentary elections in June. The Welfare Party secured more than 400 of the 436 mandates to be awarded, the electoral commission announced. Accordingly, the ruling party won 421 parliamentary seats.
This should ensure a second term of office for the head of government. However, opposition parties boycotted the vote. In addition, ten constituencies had to vote again and in three others a recounting of the votes had been ordered, said the electoral commission. The election was overshadowed by the conflict in the troubled Tigray region.
38 million eligible voters in the East African country were called to elect their representatives. However, the election could not be held as planned in 20 percent of all 547 constituencies. For the time being, there was no election in the conflict region of Tigray. It is uncertain when the vote can be rescheduled there. In dozens of other constituencies, voting was postponed to September due to simmering conflicts or logistical problems.
The parliamentary election was a first test of sentiment for Abiy, who came into office in 2018 with the promise of democratization. He hoped for a strong mandate for his economic reforms and military operations like the offensive in Tigray.
Abiy had received the Nobel Peace Prize
Ethiopian government troops attacked the TPLF, which ruled Tigray, in November. Abiy, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, justified the invasion by saying that insurgents had previously attacked military bases. Shortly afterwards he declared the TPLF defeated.
But even months later, the fighting continued. Again and again there were reports of excesses of violence and numerous civilian victims. At the end of June, the government in Addis Ababa announced a unilateral ceasefire after the insurgents had recaptured the regional capital Mekele. According to the UN, more than 400,000 people in the conflict region are affected by acute hunger.
.