Polls have opened in Ethiopia’s general election, marking a key moment in the country’s democratic process as voting gets underway across the nation.
Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta is leading the African Union Election Observers (AUEOM) to the 1 June 2026 General Elections.
He is being deputised by former Nigerian MFA Geoffrey Onyeama.
The observer mission commenced on Monday morning before 6:00 am ahead of the official opening of polling stations nationwide.
According to a statement, throughout the day, the AUEOM teams deployed across the country will be observing the opening, voting, closing, and vote counting to ensure transparency, credibility and overall conduct of the elections. The polls are expected to close at 6:00 pm Monday.
The Mission comprises 73 Short-Term Observers (STOs), 61pc of whom are women, drawn from 37 African countries, including ambassadors accredited to the African Union, officials of election management bodies, members of civil society organisations, election experts, human rights specialists, gender and media experts, and representatives of youth organisations.
“The AUEOM will base its assessment on the legal framework governing elections in Ethiopia, the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), and other relevant regional and international instruments and standards for democratic elections,” the statement read.
Further the statement noted that the mission shall engage with state authorities, including the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), political parties, candidates, civil society organisations, the media, representatives of the international community based in Ethiopia, and other election observation missions.
The Mission will release a Preliminary Statement on its findings and assessment of the conduct of the elections at a press conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 3 June 2026. A final and comprehensive report will be published within two months after the elections.
