First round of voting is over
Ethiopians voted in a first round of general elections that the opposition boycotted to protest alleged intimidation by ruling party officials.
The electoral board received no reports of irregularities or incidents, board official Tesfaye Mengesha said. The board did not have an official turnout figure, but Tesfaye estimated that it would be about 90% of Ethiopia’s 26 million registered voters.
Governing coalition candidates are running virtually unchallenged after the main opposition coalition pulled out. About 4.5 million candidates are vying for nearly 4 million seats on neighborhood councils and in Parliament.
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