Published On 5/28/2026
Doubts surround the integrity of the general elections scheduled in Ethiopia next Monday, which the opposition has anticipated by asserting that its results are predetermined with the victory of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who observers believe has become an embodiment of tyranny compared to the hopes that were placed on him when he assumed power in 2018.
The Prosperity Party, led by Ahmed (49 years old), is running in the elections this time without competition in 64 out of 547 electoral districts in Ethiopia.
The party held its only major election rally in the capital on Tuesday, and ended at exactly eight in the morning, while Abe, who has ruled the country since 2018, did not appear at any general election rally.
No one doubts his return to power with a landslide victory for the Prosperity Party, and therefore observers believe that the party prefers not to waste its time and money on electoral campaigns.
The name Prosperity was given to the party founded by Abiy Ahmed – who is described as a committed Protestant – in direct reference to the “theology of prosperity” that originated in the United States, and sees wealth and health as a divine blessing.
“Abiy believes that he is an instrument of God’s will, and that his leadership has a divine purpose,” says Tom Gardner, author of “The Abiy Project: God, Power, and War in the New Ethiopia.” “This view leaves little room for dissent. It is not a democratic mindset.”
As for the Ethiopian opposition parties, they are running in the elections amid threats, rebellions, and almost complete state control over the media.
No elections will be held in the northern Tigray region, as tensions remain with the federal government against the backdrop of the civil war that broke out between 2020 and 2022, and about a million people are still displaced because of it.
The results are scheduled to be announced on June 11. Although there are about 40 opposition parties, none of them have a serious competitor. Even the largest, represented by the “Ezima Party,” will only nominate candidates in the hope of increasing the number of its current four deputies.
The party will nominate candidates in only 293 electoral districts. However, a question arises as to whether the “Ezima Party” is considered a real opposition party, given that one of its members holds a ministerial position in the current government.
Party member Eul Solomon said, “We cannot be certain of the integrity and complete freedom of the electoral process, given the challenges we are still facing.”
The worst ever
As for the Secretary-General of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party, Mr. Selassie Tamirat, he says, “These elections will be the worst ever,” adding that members of his party faced “physical harassment, arbitrary arrests, and suppression of independent media.”
He continued, “We face challenges in reaching our constituencies, and we are exposed to intense hate campaigns on social media, as well as media misinformation from supporters of the ruling party.”
Merera Godina, head of the 11-party opposition committee, believes that holding elections amid these circumstances “is essentially just a ritual aimed at showing the international community that the government is elected every five years by the people.”
Regional parties are also facing violent insurgencies, including a nationalist group called Fano that has threatened to disrupt elections in the Amhara region.
Amharic National Movement candidate Yusuf Ibrahim said, “We cannot campaign freely in many areas,” adding that “the Fano group intimidates, harasses, and threatens to kill our candidates and supporters.”
Usual results
Ethiopia’s 130 million citizens are accustomed to results that seem predetermined, and most elections since the overthrow of Mengistu Haile Mariam’s dictatorship in 1991 have ended with one party winning between 90% and 100% of parliamentary seats, often accompanied by allegations of fraud.
Abiy Ahmed emerged from the ranks of the former ruling party to take power in 2018, and initially showed signs of a liberal orientation, as he released imprisoned opposition members and journalists, and even won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to resolve tensions with neighboring Eritrea.
But this quickly turned into increasing repression, especially against the media, as many international media outlets were prevented from entering the country to cover the elections, and Ethiopia fell to 148th place out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index issued by Reporters Without Borders.
