Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has won the country’s general elections, held on 1 June 2026, promising to transform the country’s economy.
Ahmed first came to power amid anti-government protests in 2018, and he was at first hailed for his campaign to heal divisions – though he upset politicians from the northern region of Tigray who had dominated the government for more than two decades.
After a year, the 49-year-old PM won the Nobel Peace Prize, mainly for his efforts to end hostilities with Ethiopia’s northern neighbour, Eritrea.
However, despite this year’s elections being marred by conflict, accusations of repression and little participation by opposition parties, Ahmed’s party-The Prosperity Party won 90% of the votes and has retained the majority of parliamentary seats.
The party won 438 of the 501 contested seats, and will form the new government with Abiy set to be sworn in for another term at the beginning of October.
On the day of the elections, 143 polling stations failed to open in the country’s two most populous regions because of safety concerns caused by armed groups fighting the government.
The Fano militias in Amhara and the proscribed Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) in Oromia, which both want greater autonomy, rejected the election and its results.
Security experts in the country fear that there could be a return to war, while the violent and deadly insurgencies in Ethiopia’s Amhara and Oromia regions show no sign of ending.
Ethiopia is a landlocked country on the Horn of Africa and shares borders with Kenya, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.
Source: BBC
