Ethiopia Decides: Millions of Voters Head to the Polls in Landmark 7th General Election as AU Observers Praise Peaceful Start

Ethiopia, 1 June 2026 - Millions of Ethiopians began casting their ballots on Monday in the country's 7th General Election, a vote widely regarded as a significant milestone in Ethiopia's democratic journey and one of the most consequential electoral exercises on the African continent.

Citizens across the country are voting to elect representatives to nine regional state councils and a new federal parliament, which will play a central role in forming the next government and shaping Ethiopia's political direction in the years ahead.

Polling stations opened at 6:00 a.m., with long queues forming in several locations as voters turned out to exercise their democratic right. Election officials, security personnel, observers and polling staff were deployed nationwide to oversee a process that is expected to be among Africa's largest electoral exercises.

According to election authorities, more than 54 million registered voters are eligible to participate in the polls. The election features candidates from 42 political parties, with more than 10,000 candidates competing for public office across approximately 52,000 polling stations established nationwide.

Beyond determining the country's next leadership, the election is being closely watched because of Ethiopia's growing regional influence, demographic significance and strategic position within Africa. Analysts view the vote as a key test of democratic institutions and political stability in one of the continent's most important nations.

The process has also attracted significant international attention, with regional and continental observer missions deployed across the country to monitor voting, counting and tabulation procedures.

Among the observers is the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM), led by former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who expressed optimism after observing the opening of polling stations.

"...the process has started, and we will continue to monitor during the course of the day to see the flow, and then be back at the end of the day. So far, we can say that the process has started, it is moving, it is flowing, and we hope it continues like that for the rest of the day," Kenyatta said.

The former Kenyan leader underscored the broader importance of elections in strengthening democratic governance across Africa.

"Well, you know, voting is the exercise of citizens exercising their democratic rights to choose their representatives and leaders. Democracy is something that we in the African continent would like to entrench so that we have true representation, a feeling of inclusion, and the ability for people to choose the leaders of their choice," he said.