African Union Election Observation Mission To The 21 June 2021 General Elections In The Federal Democratic Republic Of Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA, 23 JUNE 2021. Ethiopians went to the polls on 21 June 2021 to elect the members of the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HoPR), Regional State Councils and City Councils. These were the 6th General Elections since the return to civilian rule in 1995 and were largely considered as a watershed for democratic development. The elections took place within a context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflicts in the Tigray region, regional state border disputes, the international border dispute with Sudan and the dispute over the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). All these contribute to heightened political and security concerns in the country.