ETHIOPIA ELECTIONS: Ballot Counting Starts As Voting Continues In Some Constituencies

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14:47: The Ethiopian Electoral body is expected to announce the results within 5 days, buy is also allowed to announce the result for each constituency in 10 days.

14:42: ‘Many parliamentary seats were contested by sole candidates

KDRTV NEWS: Ballot counting has started in Ethiopia as voting continues in some constituencies.

The constituencies have continued to vote for the second day after having experienced delayed ballots and logistic problems in various part of Ethiopia due to security issues.

At the same time, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia chairperson Birtukan Mideksa reported that certain constituencies and polling stations had shortages of ballots and “unjustified interventions” by local officials.

READ ALSO: ETHIOPIA ELECTIONS: Voters Go To Polls Amid Tigray Conflict

The electoral agency had also admitted that they never expected the voter turnout due to the ongoing conflicts in the country as well as coronavirus pandemic.

Ballot counting underway as voting continues in some parts of Ethiopia 1

KDRTV noted that the voting in Ethiopia was extended by three days after certain polling stations experienced logistic issues.

Reuters also reported that the voting in Sidama region was postponed to Monday after only a half of the ballot papers arrived.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister has praised the the election as the historic day and the nation`s “first free and fair election”

June 21, 2021 is a historic day for #Ethiopia. All sections of society have gone out to cast their voice in our nation’s first free & fair election. Pictures are a thousand words and they show the earnestness, commitment to peace and the democratic process, by our people. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/0DImepJQZW

— Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 (@AbiyAhmedAli) June 22, 2021

The elections in Ethiopia have come amid expanding ethnic tensions and conflict in the northern region of Tigray.

READ ALSO: Israel Says Iranians Made Wrong Turn Electing Raisi

Voting has not taken place in the whole Tigray region with the electoral body hinting that about 100 constituencies did not go polls.

The election had been postponed twice: due to ethnic conflicts and then coronavirus pandemic

The UN had warned that many Ethiopians in Tigray region were in the verge of starvation.

The election is considered to be very crucial to the Prime Minister who seek to beef up his representation in the assembly.