Tigray’s ruling party takes 98.2 percent of votes in the regional election

Tigray’s ruling party had a landslide victory in the supposedly democratic elections held on Wednesday, winning over 98.2 percent of votes in the regional assembly. According to the official election results, 152 out of 190 seats declared have been awarded to the ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The remaining 38 seats will be divided among the five political parties that participated in the vote, Salsay Woyane Tigray, the Tigray Independence Party, Baytona Tigray, and Assimba Democratic Party.

The regional election commissioner Muluwork Kidanemariam said an estimated 2, 7 million were registered to vote, with a 97 % turnout of voters. Most observers predicted an easy win for the ruling TPLF, which has tight control over the regional media, government jobs, the election process, and controls all aspects of people’s daily life. Debretsion Gebremichael, the chairperson of TPLF and president of the Tigray Region, won in his Adwa constituency. Getachew Reda, the spokesman of the TPLF, has won in his hometown Alamata while Keria Ibrahim, the former Speaker of the House of Federation and TPLF member won the seat for Mekele. Kidane Amene, head of the opposition party Baytona, was one of the winners in the Mekele constituency while Hayalu Godefay, chairman of opposition party Salsay Woyane Tigray, won a seat at Ab Bora Selewa village.

TPLF has touted the polls as proof positive of its democratic credentials while accusing the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of taking measures to consolidate the power of the Prosperity Party. However, the 98.2 percent victory and accusation of irregularities from the opposition activists have cast doubt on their fairness, leaving spin doctors, political PR, and TPLF sympathetic foreign commentators to play defense.

René Lefort, a French commentator, who is described as TPLF-friendly, tweeted the following,