Ethiopia’s election drama

African Dialogue

Ethiopians have voted in a crucial parliamentary election taking place against the backdrop of war and famine in the northern Tigray region and questions over the poll’s credibility, with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expected to cement his hold on power.
Abiy, a Nobel Peace laureate who freed political prisoners, welcomed back exiles and ended a long cold war with neighbouring Eritrea before sending troops to confront the dissident leadership of Tigray late last year, has promised this election will be Ethiopia’s most competitive in history, free of the repression that marred previous ballots. To assist us on this we are joined by Isabel Bosman, a Researcher in the African Governance and Diplomacy Programme at the South African Institute for International Affairs and Andualem Sisay Gessesse, a journalist based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.