Elections Held in Three Regions of Ethiopia Concluded Peacefully: NEBE

Addis Ababa October 1/2021 (ENA) The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) announced that the elections conducted in the Harari, Somali and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNP) regions on Thursday were concluded peacefully.

In her presser on Thursday evening, NEBE Chairperson Birtukan Mideksa said the elections were concluded peacefully.

"We did not face any security concern during the process," Birtukan said, adding that 4,000 local civil society organizations have observed the election.  

Birtukan said the board has immediately solved two complaints from representatives of two independent candidates in Somali and SNNP regions, adding that those who have any compliant can submit in written to the board within few days.

Vote counting has begun immediately after the completion of the voting process, but in remote areas with shortage of electricity, counting of votes will be conducted on Friday starting at 7:00 AM, she noted.

More than 7.6 million people were registered to vote, it was indicated.  

Out of the 1,452 registered candidates, 210 run for parliament and 1,242 for regional council.  

The elections held yesterday were delayed partly due to logistics and other issues when the national election was conducted on June 21, 2021, when the governing Prosperity Party won 410 of the 436 contested parliamentary seats.