By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
Addis Ababa (Dawan) – At least 143 polling stations did not conduct voting in Ethiopia’s general election due to insecurity in parts of the Oromia and Amhara regions, according to Ethiopia’s electoral commission.
The chairperson of the electoral commission, Melatework Hailu, said voting was disrupted in areas of the two regions. Some polling stations were later reopened, but voting could not take place in 143 stations. International reports have not provided detailed information on the specific security incidents that caused the disruption.
The commission had planned for the 2026 general election to take place across 40,448 polling stations, but voting did not occur in 143 of them.
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The electoral commission had earlier said that more than 50 million voters had registered for the election, with the final results expected on June 11, 2026.
The election came as Ethiopia continues to face major security challenges in several regions. The Tigray region did not participate in the election, while Amhara and Oromia have experienced tensions and armed conflict that have affected political and security stability in recent years.
Despite the disruption, the electoral commission said voting proceeded normally across most of the country. Ethiopia’s state broadcaster, Fana, reported that millions of people cast their ballots at polling stations.
However, the closure of the 143 polling stations has raised concerns about voter participation in areas affected by insecurity and how this could affect confidence in the election in some regions.