Ethiopia election: Will delayed polls mirror those of the past?

Gov’t says June 21 vote will be a break away from previous polls but critics say process is not free and fair.

Ethiopia’s election is less than two weeks away but various insecurity and logistical woes, as well as questions over representation, threaten to overshadow the country’s already twice-delayed national polls. In a televised statement in April, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed promised Ethiopians they would be able to shape the country’s destiny with their vote. However, as bloodshed in the northern Tigray region and instability elsewhere keep taking a toll on civilians, and as candidates slated to provide Abiy with the stiffest electoral challenge remain behind bars, enthusiasm among some Ethiopians continues to wane. “I don’t have much hope in the process, I just want peace,” said Haimanot Tsegaye, a graduate student in the capital, Addis Ababa.