2026 Ethiopian general election
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General elections were held in Ethiopia on 1 June 2026 to elect members of the House of Peoples' Representatives.[1]
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1 June 2026
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All 547 seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives 274 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reporting | as of 16 June 04:00 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ongoing conflicts left many Ethiopians unable to vote, including those in the entire Tigray Region, which is still recovering from the Tigray war.[2]
Background
Concerns over government suppression of opposition and possible plans by Abiy Ahmed to amend the constitution and switch the country to a presidential system to stay in power were made prior to the election.[3][4]
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) published an updated list of electoral constituencies on 30 January 2026.[5]
Electoral system
The members of the House of Peoples' Representatives are elected in single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post system. The voters elect 547 representatives, and the party that wins at least 274 seats can form the government for the next 5 years.[2]
According to NEBE, over 50.5 million people have registered to vote in the election.[2]
Candidates
There are 47 parties and more than 10,900 candidates, including 2,198 for the federal parliament, 8,736 for regional and city councils and 73 independents, contesting in the election.[6]
Campaign
The Prosperity Party campaigned on its economic record, particularly improved food security and economic growth. Opposition parties accused the federal government of arresting their leaders and obstructing their political activities through legal maneuvers.[7]
Conduct
Election day was declared a national holiday as part of efforts to encourage turnout.[8] Polling was being held in 48,000 precincts nationwide, with the procedure running from 06:00 to 18:00 (EAT).[9] Voting was not held in Tigray Region as well as in 30 constituencies in Amhara Region due to concerns of interference by the Fano militia.[2] NEBE cited "unfavourable conditions" following the Tigray war and subsequent political instability for not holding the election in Tigray.[7] Also, voting was not held in some constituencies in Oromia Region "due to security problems", following fighting between the government and the Oromo Liberation Army.[10] Security incidents were reported in Amhara and Oromia Regions, with voting interrupted in at least 143 polling stations.[11]
Results
On 6 June, out of the targeted 1,138 constituencies, about 825 constituencies have declared election results, according to NEBE Chairperson Melatwork Hailu without providing further details.[12]