Jun 10 , 2026
Melatwerk Hailu’s delayed arrival at yesterday’s press briefing at the Skylight Hotel, on Africa Avenue (Bole Road) appeared to foreshadow the larger uncertainty surrounding the National Election Board of Ethiopia’s (NEBE) timetable.
Over an hour after the scheduled start, the Chairwoman walked in to the room at 7:10pm to present not yet a full picture of last week’s elections, but rather a fraction of the preliminary certified results that had already signalled sweeping gains for the ruling Prosperity Party (PP).
The early returns, verified and certified by the Board so far, show that candidates who run on the incumbent’s ticket win the overwhelming majority of the announced constituencies, including several races where the party had no opponent on the ballot. In others, the ruling party secured more than 90pc of the votes cast, uncovering the scale of its dominance in the results disclosed yesterday.
Melatwerk began with special polling stations, where the Board had made arrangements for military personnel and internally displaced persons, including 442 polling stations in military camps and 82 in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs). According to the Board, 126,492 military personnel and 28,632 voters in IDP places were registered to vote. Melatwerk did not disclose voter turnout figures, but stated that nearly all registered voters in these special polling stations had cast their ballots.
Voting has concluded in all but two military-camp polling stations. Across the country, the Board disclosed that the elections covered 1,139 constituencies, comprising 501 of the 547 parliamentary constituencies and 638 regional council constituencies. Only two constituencies have yet to file their results.
In Halaba 1 Constituency, vote counting was transferred to Hossana in the presence of representatives from contesting political parties. In Qerbi Beya constituency, results remain pending due to “unresolved vote tallies” from polling stations, including Bursum.
However, the figures disclosed by the Board show how far the certification process still has to go. Melatwerk disclosed that the Board has received results from 71.6pc of constituencies and has so far verified and certified results from only 24 constituencies for the federal legislative house and regional council seats.
“These were only the results verified and certified thus far,” she said.
The certified results nevertheless reveal a clear early pattern. Prosperity Party candidates have dominated the announced results, winning in uncontested races and in competitive constituencies by margins that, in several cases, left little room for rivals.
One of the most notable outcomes came from Chiro 2 Constituency in Oromia Regional State, where the Prosperity Party and the Coalition for Ethiopian Unity (CEU) were running. The constituency registered approximately 93,000 voters for elections to three regional council seats and one parliamentary seat. All three regional council seats were won by Prosperity Party candidates, who collectively received all the votes cast in the race.
The parliamentary contest in Chiro 2, where six candidates, including Mohammednur Ahmed of Prosperity Party, Mekonnen Wubishet of the Coalition for Ethiopian Unity, and Kassahun Tola of the Wollo People’s Democratic Party contested. According to the results certified by the Board, secured 100pc of the votes and won the parliamentary seat. In Amhara Regional State, Gondar Zone 4 Constituency produced one of the few opposition wins among the results announced yesterday.
Tahir Mohammed of the National Movement of Amhara (NaMA) won the parliamentary seat after securing 59.2pc of the vote, running against Feleg Genetu of the Qemant Democratic Party, Melkamu Tagele of the Amhara Democratic Force Movement, and Be’wketu Malede of the Coalition for Peace in Ethiopia. The incumbent Prosperity Party did not field a candidate in this constituency.
In Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State, the Prosperity Party captured eight of the nine available seats on the regional council.
The remaining seat went to the Benishangul People’s Liberation Movement (BPLM), marking the only opposition victory among the nine seats announced in the region. The Party had fielded three candidates – Halefela Mohammed (Sherqolle constituency), Asyed Ibrahim (Assosa Hoha constituency) and Messad Khalifa (Assosa Megelle constituency) contesting seats for the federal parliament.
The partial results place the ruling party far ahead in the certified returns, but they also leave the electoral process short of completion. According to Melatwerk, the Board will continue its verification “as quickly as possible.”
With only 24 constituencies certified so far and the Board’s earlier June 11, 2026, deadline for final results approaching, that timetable now appears increasingly unlikely.
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