Ethiopian Election Commission: Ruling party sweeps 90% of parliamentary seats

Ethiopia's ruling Prosperity Party, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has achieved a sweeping victory in the recent parliamentary elections, securing roughly 90% of the available seats. The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia announced the results, confirming the party's dominance in the national legislature.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in 2018, has faced growing criticism for what observers describe as increasingly authoritarian governance, a stark contrast to the image he projected early in his tenure when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for mending relations with neighboring Eritrea.

The Prosperity Party was widely expected to win in the nation of 130 million people. The opposition, fragmented and facing challenges, failed to field candidates in numerous electoral districts. According to the National Electoral Board, the Prosperity Party secured 438 out of 486 seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives. Voting took place in 501 out of 547 constituencies, with approximately 40 million of the 54 million registered voters participating.

The electoral commission noted that 143 polling stations were not opened due to security concerns. Voting operations were temporarily interrupted in several locations within the Amhara and Oromia regions, though specific details were not provided. The main opposition party, the Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice, fielded only 293 candidates, significantly fewer than the Prosperity Party's 461 candidates.