Political situation in Ethiopia

Top politician: 100 percent of the vote is too much


The ruling Progress Party looks set for a landslide victory in today's elections in Ethiopia. The party is so dominant that Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh says he is worried about winning too much.

- We do not want 100 percent of the vote. We want our opponents to have some victories because we want to make room for a diversity of voices.

According to Al Jazeera, the government is popular, but is also helped along by the fact that the opposition is divided and that voting has been canceled in the Tigray region, where open rebellion prevails.

Controversial peace laureate expected to win elections in Ethiopia

Incumbent Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is expected to win by large numbers when Ethiopia goes to the polls on Monday, reports AFP. Ahmed has ruled the country since 2018 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize the following year, for his efforts in brokering peace with neighboring Eritrea.

However, his reputation has since been severely tarnished. In 2020, Ahmed's government went to war against rebels in the province of Tigray, which led to the deaths of around 600,000 people, according to the BBC. His rule has become increasingly authoritarian and several opposition politicians have gone into exile or are in prison, writes AFP.

In the last election, held in 2021, Ahmed's party won 96 percent of the seats in parliament.

 

Big win expected for criticized Nobel laureate

TT

Published 08.37

 

Supporters of Ethiopia's ruling party with a portrait of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa last week.

Supporters of Ethiopia's ruling party with a portrait of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa last week. Photo: Amanuel Sileshi/AP/TT

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, but has since been criticized for an increasingly authoritarian rule. When Ethiopia now goes to the polls, he is expected to win a landslide victory.

Queues at polling stations in Addis Ababa are long on Monday.

- It is a critical moment where the future of the country is being decided, 38-year-old Binyam Gideyelem, who is voting for the first time, told the AFP news agency.

However, analysts predict an almost guaranteed landslide victory for Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in 2018. The following year he received the Nobel Prize for the peace agreement with neighboring Eritrea, but since then his rule has become increasingly authoritarian and violent, with harsh crackdowns on dissent.

No election is being held in the Tigray region, where a brutal war between local rulers and Ahmed's central government has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives since 2020. 

Russian oil tanker seized – Kremlin furious

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Published 12.04

 

France has seized a Russian oil tanker, according to President Emmanuel Macron. In the picture, he visits one of the French navy ships in southern France in 2022. Photo: Eric Gaillard/AP/TT

France has, together with allies, seized a Russian oil tanker that is on Western sanctions lists, President Emmanuel Macron announced.

The ship Tagor was reportedly stopped in international waters on Sunday morning. According to prosecutors in Brest, France, the ship's captain refused to follow the navy's orders and a criminal investigation has now been opened.

Russia is furious. The Kremlin calls the seizure illegal and equates it with "piracy".

- Russia is taking measures to secure the cargo, says spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

According to ship tracking services, Tagor was last week off the coast of Norway.

The EU's list of sanctioned Russian "shadow vessels" - ships believed to be used to circumvent sanctions on Russian oil exports - totals almost 600.

 

Review: Major damage to US missile defense

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Published 09.55

 

American missile defense of the Thaad type is loaded onto a military transport aircraft in Fort Bliss, Texas. Archive photo. Photo: Cory D Payne/U.S. Air Force Via AP/TT

Iran has caused damage to at least 20 American military facilities, satellite images analyzed by the BBC show.

The review indicates that the damage is more extensive than the US has admitted.

The US has been tight-lipped about damage to the country's military bases in the Middle East. The White House has also requested that the satellite company Planet Labs restrict access to satellite images of the region.

Using images from other suppliers, the BBC now finds that at least 20 American military facilities have been damaged in the war. Among other things, three of the US's eight Thaad - an advanced missile defense system - have been damaged.

“The conflict has significantly depleted the air defense stockpiles of the United States and its partner countries,” analyst Kelly Grieco told the BBC.

Tanker and surveillance planes in Saudi Arabia, as well as hangars and fuel depots in Kuwait, have also been damaged, according to the review.