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And from East Africa, let's head now to the Horn of Africa nation of Ethiopia. Elections were held in Ethiopia, widely expected to be won by the ruling party. Speaking after casting his ballot, Prime Minister Abi Ahmed claimed Ethiopia's historical enemies were trying to undermine public confidence in the integrity of the election. Opposition parties have raised concerns over what they describe as a shrinking political space, alleging that they were prevented from actively campaigning and persuading voters. Ethiopia has also faced criticism of a report of human rights abuses targeting government critics and even journalists.
It is the seventh election since the downfall of the military regime in 1991. An upheaval that led to Eritrea's cessation 2 years later. And it takes place as Ethiopia's relations with its northern neighbor are once again dangerously fraught. Over 50 million Ethiopians are registered to vote with the youth and women forming a significant share of the electorate. The National Election Board of Ethiopia, the NIBi, says 47 political parties and more than 10,900 candidates are in the race, including 2,198 for the federal parliament, 8,736 for regional and city councils, and 73 independents. This is my first time voting. The election is good. It is fair. So I have voted for the party I believe will benefit this country. Well, as you can
see, the queue is good. Things are just as you see them. I believe the winning party needs to be even better than this and serve as an exemplary model for the future. Compared to the previous election, today's is different. To vote for the party we believe will benefit us, the public came out early. We woke up and arrived at 6:30 a.m. We have taken our places in line, ready to cast our votes for the party we believe will serve us. Conflict has been raging in parts of the country, meaning many people will not be able to vote. In fact, the whole northern region of Tigra, which has been trying to recover from a brutal civil war that ended in
2022, has been totally excluded from the poll. Besides continuing tensions in Tigra, two of the country's most populous regions, Amhara and Oramia, have experienced violent insurgencies in recent years. According to conflict monitoring group ALED, more than 9,400 people were killed in 2024 as a result of the violence in those regions. Despite the insecurity, the government says 97% of areas in Amhara and Orumia are ready to hold elections. there are some parts of Ethiopia that are not participating in this election uh due to the conflicts that are happening in many parts of the
country in some parts of the country. Uh and that we have accepted and moved on and participated in the election. Uh we hope the only hope you have is peace will reign in this country and uh those parts of the country that are not participating in this election will be able to participate uh in the election very soon. Voters elect representatives to the 547 member parliament and the party that secures at least 274 seats earns the right to form the next government to lead the country for the next 5 years. 49-year-old Abi Ahmed came to power in 2018 following widespread anti-government protests against the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, a coalition dominated by politicians from Trade that had ruled
since 1991. He went on to dissolve the EPRDF of which he was a part and replaced it with his prosperity party, a more centralized and less federal form of governing. When Abi first assumed office, he was hailed as a champion of democracy and press freedom after releasing hundreds of politicians and journalists from prison. at the Nobel Prize strengthen the prime minister our he was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize mainly for bringing an end to the 20-year military stalemate with neighboring Eritra 7 years later things could not be more different critics accuse his government of suppressing disscent forcing opponents into exile and arresting political rivals economic reforms have received support
from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Under the provision, the country rebolizes its foreign currency exchange market and gets to handle its debt. This stood at 36.5 billion US in 2024 and that's according to the Wild. With a population of 135.9 million, Ethiopia is Africa's second most populous nation after Nigeria and one of the continent's fast growing economies. And that's according to estimates by the World Bank. Africa beyond world is one.
