AU observers say Ethiopia’s elections ‘credible’ despite challenges
Olusegun Obasanjo says in Addis Ababa the polls were conducted in ‘an orderly, peaceful and credible manner’
Addis Ababa — Ethiopia’s parliamentary polls, held on Monday, were conducted in a “credible” manner, the AU’s election observer mission said on Wednesday.
“Overall the election and election day processes were conducted in an orderly, peaceful and credible manner,” former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, the head of the mission of 100 observers, told a news conference in Addis Ababa as authorities continued counting ballots.
The election in the country of 109-million people has been billed by the government as the first free vote in the country’s history. But it has been marred by an opposition boycott, war and reports of irregularities in some areas.
Authorities were unable to hold elections in four of Ethiopia’s 10 regions on Monday, though polling took place a day late in one of those regions, Sidama, on Tuesday, according to the elections board.
On Tuesday, medical officials said an air strike had killed at least 43 people in the town of Togoga in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
Ethiopian military spokesperson Col Getnet Adane did not confirm or deny the incident. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the head of a government task force on Tigray did not respond to requests for comment on the incident.
Reuters