Elections panel declares victory for ruling party

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia’s ruling Prosperity Party was declared the winner of last month’s national election in a landslide Saturday, assuring a second fiveyear term for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

The National Election Board of Ethiopia said the ruling party won 410 seats out of 436 contested in the federal parliament, which will see dozens of other seats remain vacant after onefifth of constituencies didn’t vote due to unrest or logistical reasons. Ethiopia’s new government is expected to be formed in October.

The vote was a major test for Abiy, who came to power in 2018 after the former prime minister resigned amid widespread protests. Abiy oversaw dramatic political reforms that led in part to a Nobel Peace Prize the next year, but critics say he is backtracking on political and media freedoms. Abiy also has drawn broad international criticism for his handling of the fighting in the breakaway Tigray region has that left thousands of people dead.

June’s vote, which had been postponed twice because of the COVID19 pandemic and logistical issues, was largely peaceful but opposition parties decried harassment and intimidation. No voting was held in Tigray.

Abiy has hailed the election as the nation’s first attempt at a free and fair vote, but the United States has called it “significantly flawed,” citing the detention of some opposition figures and insecurity in parts of Africa’s second most populous country.

The leader of the main opposition Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice party, Birhanu Nega, lost while opposition parties won just 11 seats. The Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice party has filed 207 complaints with the electoral body over the vote.

Popular opposition parties in the Oromia region, the largest of Ethiopia’s federal states, boycotted the election. The ruling party ran alone in several dozen constituencies.

The head of the electoral board, Birtukan Mideksa, said during Saturday’s announcement that the vote was held at a time when Ethiopia was experiencing challenges, “but this voting process has guaranteed that people will be governed through their votes.”

She added: “I want to confirm that we have managed to conduct a credible election.”

The Prosperity Party was formed after the dismantling of Ethiopia’s former ruling coalition, which had been dominated by Tigray politicians. Disagreements over that decision signaled the first tensions between Abiy and Tigray leaders that finally led to the conflict in the region in November.

Ethiopian Office of Prime Minister / Getty Images Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed walks to his polling location in his home city of Beshasha last month to vote in the national election. Abiy will serve a second fiveyear term.