Ethiopia will hold general elections on June 1, 2026, with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's governing Prosperity Party (PP) widely expected to secure a decisive victory.
In the capital, Addis Ababa, the ruling party has closed major roads, including Meskel Square, to stage large rallies for supporters, while opposition parties say they have been barred from holding comparable gatherings.
Henok Gebre-Selassie, a 29-year-old government courier, attended a campaign rally after being transported from his workplace early in the morning, despite strong misgivings about the administration. He said he feared ostracism at work if he did not join colleagues pressured into attending.
“This government has waged endless wars while famine remains a major challenge, and yet it is focused on building parks and skyscrapers, while pushing many of us to the outskirts of the city where infrastructure is still poor,” Henok said.
Ethiopia's electoral board says more than 50 million people have registered to vote out of a population of at least 130 million, but critics dispute the figures, citing conflicts in Amhara and Oromia regions and lingering instability after the Tigray conflict.
A civil war that ended in 2022 killed an estimated 600,000 people and displaced millions. Several populous regions, including Amhara, Oromia, Gambella, and Tigray, remain unstable.
“The polls are primarily a symbolic exercise intended to confer legitimacy on the incumbent,” said Kjetil Tronvoll, professor at Oslo New University College. “Multiparty elections in Ethiopia have never been a genuine contest with the real possibility of changing government.”
Tigray has been excluded entirely from the election, as the banned but influential Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) consolidates its authority, raising fears of renewed confrontation with the federal government.
Opposition leader Mistresilasie Tamerat, 23, says she has been repeatedly denied permits and venues for rallies. “I believe democracy is possible for Ethiopia's politics, but not without tireless effort and honest confrontation with reality,” she told Al Jazeera.
Press freedom is severely curtailed. Ethiopia ranks 145th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' 2025 Press Freedom Index, alongside Eritrea, North Korea, and Iran.
Addis Standard, a critical online publication, has had its license withdrawn, while The Reporter newspaper has been warned to align its reporting with government narratives.
The government has invited only limited international observers, mainly from the African Union and IGAD, which critics say have limited influence in assessing electoral fairness.
Days before the vote, the mood in Addis Ababa is subdued. Double-digit inflation and an influx of displaced people fleeing insecurity elsewhere in the country weigh on the atmosphere. Even music perceived as critical of the government is increasingly absent from public spaces.
For Yosef Asnake, a 41-year-old public school teacher, the election is the last thing on his mind. “What is the point of casting my ballot and wasting my time when the government will win by all means, while pressing issues like war, conflict and famine continue to be overlooked?” he asked.
Source: www.aljazeera.com