Ethiopia's ruling party wins 90% of seats in election overshadowed by exclusion and conflict

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's Prosperity Party (PP) won an overwhelming majority in the 1 June parliamentary election, according to results announced on Sunday. The party took 438 seats in the 486-member House of Peoples' Representatives, effectively guaranteeing Abiy another five-year term.

Election results and turnout

The National Elections Board (NEBE) released the official tally three weeks after voting day, well past the original 11 June deadline. Turnout estimates varied: the electoral body recorded around 40 million voters from 54 million registered (74 percent), while one government-affiliated source cited 94 percent participation. Voting was conducted in 501 of the country's 547 constituencies, though 143 polling stations never opened due to safety concerns.

The ruling Prosperity Party secured 438 of the 486 seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives.

An uneven playing field

The PP entered the race with structural advantages. It fielded 461 candidates, and in 64 constituencies ran unopposed. The main opposition party Ezema could only muster 293 candidates, while more than 40 smaller parties lacked the resources for a meaningful campaign. Observers described the vote as little more than a formality to retain Abiy in power.

Regions locked out

Tigray, home to six million people and 36 parliamentary seats, was entirely excluded from the election for the second consecutive cycle. The northern region is still recovering from the 2020–2022 civil war that killed an estimated 600,000 people. Armed groups Fano in Amhara and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) in Oromia, both regions that experienced polling interruptions, have rejected the results and continue to fight the central government.

Abiy's trajectory and regional tensions

Abiy came to power in 2018 on a democratisation platform, freeing political prisoners and making peace with neighbouring Eritrea, for which he received the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. His governing style later shifted toward repression, and he led the country through the devastating Tigray conflict. Fears of renewed war now loom as relations between Addis Ababa and Asmara deteriorate. Landlocked Ethiopia’s repeated calls for Red Sea access, which it lost with Eritrean independence in 1993, have fuelled mistrust along the 1,350-kilometre border.

Abiy is expected to be sworn in at the beginning of October. His supporters point to economic gains made under his leadership, but security analysts warn that internal divisions and insurgencies in Amhara and Oromia are likely to intensify.