Ethiopia Holds Parliamentary Election Amid Voting Suspensions in Amhara, Oromia and Tigray and Opposition Claims of Rigging

Ethiopia's parliamentary election took place on June 1, 2026, with nearly 50 million people registered to vote. Voting was suspended in at least 140 constituencies in the Amhara and Oromia regions due to insecurity and was also suspended in Tigray because of unfavorable conditions.

IGAD observers reported that designated polling stations opened on schedule and that voter queues formed before official opening times.

A joint statement by the AU Election Observation Mission and IGAD described the election as peaceful. Speciosa Wandira-Kazibwe, Uganda's former vice president and head of the IGAD Observer Mission, said the IGAD mission extends sincere congratulations to the government and people of Ethiopia for the generally peaceful and orderly conduct of the electoral process.

She added that the peaceful conduct of the polls puts Ethiopia on a path toward stability, constitutionalism and democratic progress.

The Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice said overall the situation was positive with no major problems reported. The Coalition for Ethiopian Unity and the Kucha People's Democratic Party submitted a complaint to the National Election Board of Ethiopia alleging disenfranchisement.

Bandira Belachew of the Kucha People's Democratic Party said the constituency was unable to exercise its constitutional right to elect its own representatives.

The Kucha People's Democratic Party requested an annulment of the election in the Kucha constituency. Election results are not expected until 10 days after voting. The Prosperity Party currently holds 457 out of 547 seats in the House of Representatives.

Bizuneh Yimenu, an analyst at Queen's University in Belfast, said Ethiopia has very fragmented weak opposition parties that could not pose a serious threat to the ruling party. Mistresilasie Tamerat, head of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party and the youngest candidate in this year's election, said if the opposition was weak there would be no challenge to the government.

The Coalition for Ethiopian Unity criticized the electoral process, saying it was rigged and its results must be rejected.

Mistresilasie Tamerat said the opposition is not going to accept whatever results come in even if it won and that if the process is rigged there cannot be a democratic and free and fair result. In Ethiopia's 2005 election opposition parties raised similar concerns, rejecting the election outcome and leading to widespread protests.