Ethiopian Political Shift: Prosperity Party Takes Commanding Lead in Early Counts
Ethiopia's National Election Board has released preliminary results showing the ruling Prosperity Party securing a vast majority of seats, with a single opposition victory recorded in Gondar Zuria. Verification and tabulation processes are ongoing across the country as more results are awaited.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has commenced the release of preliminary results from the recent federal parliamentary and regional council races. So far, results from 24 constituencies have been announced, indicating a strong performance by the ruling Prosperity Party, which has secured all but one of the seats declared. This dominance highlights the party's significant presence in the electoral landscape.
A notable exception to the Prosperity Party's sweep occurred in Gondar Zuria Constituency No. 4 within the Amhara region. Here, Tahir Mohammed Tahir, representing the National Movement of Amhara (NaMA), achieved the sole opposition victory announced to date, winning a parliamentary seat. It is noteworthy that the Prosperity Party did not field a candidate in this particular constituency. According to figures released by the election board, Tahir garnered approximately 26,000 votes out of nearly 45,000 registered voters. Other contenders for this seat included candidates from the Kimant Democratic Party, the Amhara Democratic Force Movement, and the Coalition for Ethiopia.
As of the latest update, 353 House seats and 463 regional council seats have been confirmed by the NEBE. Election officials have reiterated that these results remain preliminary. The comprehensive processes of verification, tabulation, and reconciliation are actively ongoing across the country to ensure accuracy and finality. Voting encompassed a vast network of 1,139 constituencies nationwide, including contests for 501 seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives. The NEBE has verified results from 816 constituencies, with the remaining results still under active processing.
Certain constituencies have yet to submit their results. Specifically, the NEBE reported that results from the Halaba constituency in the Central Ethiopia Region and the Kebribeyah constituency in the Somali Region have not yet been received. In parallel to the ongoing tabulation, special voting sessions for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and members of the military were successfully conducted on Tuesday. The NEBE has committed to a continuous release of constituency-level results as verification and tabulation stages are progressively completed across all regions.