{"id":6336,"date":"2026-05-30T04:06:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T04:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/home\/ethiopia-prepares-for-elections-with-50-million-voters"},"modified":"2026-05-31T05:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T05:07:09","slug":"ethiopia-prepares-for-elections-with-50-million-voters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/ethiopia-prepares-for-elections-with-50-million-voters","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopia Prepares for Elections with 50 Million Voters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. <\/strong> <\/span>Ethiopia is preparing to hold its seventh general election on June 1, amid extensive political and logistical preparations, marking one of the largest electoral processes in Africa.<\/p>\n

The National Electoral Board announced the registration of over 50 million voters for the upcoming election, including approximately 27.3 million men and 23.1 million women, a significant increase compared to the 37 million voters who participated in the 2021 elections.<\/p>\n

The elections will be held to select 547 members of the federal parliament, along with hundreds of seats in regional councils, across more than 48,000 polling stations distributed throughout the country. The National Electoral Board has deployed around 195,000 staff to support the electoral process, allocating over one billion birr (approximately 6.2 million dollars) to cover the salaries of workers, in addition to about 81 million birr (around 502,000 dollars) to support participating political parties.<\/p>\n

A total of 47 political parties and 73 independent candidates will participate in the elections, led by the Prosperity Party, which is in power under the leadership of Abiy Ahmed, alongside various national and regional political parties and alliances, including the Citizens of Ethiopia for Social Justice Party (EZEMA), the largest opposition party, as well as the Amhara National Movement, the Mother Party, and the Freedom and Equality Party, in addition to multiple ethnic coalitions seeking to enhance their presence in parliament and regional councils.<\/p>\n

Future of the Federal System<\/b><\/p>\n

Amid the preparations for the elections, political debate continues regarding the future of the federal system and the nature of the state, with clear differences in the positions of political parties concerning the current federal experience amid rising internal discussions about the nature of the state and mechanisms for managing ethnic diversity.<\/p>\n

The leader of the opposition Freedom and Equality Party, Abdi Kadir Adam, stated that his party believes the federal system is the best and most suitable for Ethiopia, given the country’s wide ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity. He noted in an interview that there are issues within the system related to minority rights, wealth and power distribution, and the relationship between regions and the federal government.<\/p>\n

He added that his party hopes to lead the upcoming national dialogue towards constitutional amendments that address these issues.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the leader of the EZEMA party, the largest opposition party, Ayub Mesfin, criticized the existing federal system, arguing that it has contributed to creating security, political, and economic chaos within the country. He stated in an interview that the primary goal of federalism is to build a political system that unites citizens more than it divides them; however, the Ethiopian experience has produced contrary results, calling for the complete abolition of the federal system.<\/p>\n

The ruling Prosperity Party defended the federal system, with the head of international relations and the party’s spokesperson, Beqela Horisa, stating that the party believes federalism represents a suitable and viable solution for a country characterized by wide ethnic diversity like Ethiopia, while also acknowledging in an interview the existence of gaps and weaknesses within the current system that need to be addressed through constitutional mechanisms and comprehensive national dialogue.<\/p>\n

Nature of the Ethiopian Parliament Distribution<\/b><\/p>\n

The Ethiopian political system is based on ethnic federalism established by the 1994 constitution, following the fall of the Mengistu Haile Mariam regime. The distribution of parliamentary seats is based on population density, with the Oromia region leading with 178 seats, followed by the Amhara region with 138 seats, the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region with 54 seats, and the Central Ethiopia region with 36 seats.<\/p>\n

Additionally, 23 seats have been allocated to both the Somali region and the city of Addis Ababa, 19 seats to the Sidama region, 14 seats to the Southwest Ethiopia Peoples’ region, 9 seats to the Benishangul region, 8 seats to the Afar region, 3 seats to the Gambela region, and 2 seats each to the Harari region and the city of Dire Dawa.<\/p>\n

The Tigray region, which has 38 seats in the federal parliament, will not participate in the current elections after the National Electoral Board suspended the participation of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front due to the party’s failure to meet the required legal conditions.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Africa<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. Ethiopia is preparing to hold its seventh general election on June 1, amid extensive political and logistical preparations, marking one of the largest electoral processes in Africa. The National Electoral Board announced the registration of over 50 million voters for the upcoming election, including approximately 27.3 million men and 23.1 million women, a significant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":6335,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[120],"class_list":{"0":"post-6336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-policy","8":"tag-africa"},"yoast_head":"\nEthiopia Prepares for Elections with 50 Million Voters - Africa Press English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag"> Africa-Press. 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