Ethiopians are voting in key elections amid rising tensions and a bloody conflict in the northern Tigray region.
This pandemic-delayed poll is Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s first electoral test since coming to power in 2018.
He hopes to secure a popular mandate by winning a majority of the federal parliament’s 547 seats.
But the vote has been postponed in Tigray, where the army has been fighting a regional force since November.
Voting has also been delayed in some other parts of the country because of security concerns and logistical problems. Overall, elections will not be taking place for now in about a fifth of constituencies.
The general election, the first since 2015, was originally slated for August 2020 but was rescheduled because of coronavirus.
Under the initial election timetable, preliminary results from constituencies are to be announced within five days of the election, while final certified results are to be announced within 23 days.
