 says the 7th Ethiopian General Election "will not bring lasting peace, stability, or democratic governance" ){kind=link}
Borkena
Toronto – The Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), one of the major ethnic-Oromo opposition parties in the country, on Wednesday released a statement regarding the Ethiopian federal election, which took place on June 1, 2026.
“The Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) firmly believes that the recent 7th National Election held on May 24, 2018, E.C. (June 1, 2026), will not bring lasting peace, stability, or democratic governance to the peoples of Ethiopia,” it said.
The party has not fielded candidates across the Oromia region, alleging that there are no conducive political, security, and conditions in the region.
In December 2025, the party announced that it will only field candidates in Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia’s electoral law does not allow opposition parties to not participate in the election. OFC’s decision to field some candidates in Addis Ababa only was meant to be a strategic measure to comply with the law. However, the party does not seem to consider the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia as a neutral institution. Several other opposition parties tend to share the same view.
In its statement yesterday, OFC highlighted that it has been demanding a conducive condition for the election. Unconditional release of political prisoners, an end to conflicts in different parts of the country, and the establishment of “an independent and jointly agreed-upon Ethiopian National Election Board” were among the preconditions it has been demanding.
The National Electoral Board made claims that over 54 million Ethiopians registered to vote in the 7th General Election. However, critics express doubt. Ephreme Madebo, a former opposition figure and an activist, said in a recent interview with Anchor media that the number does not make sense considering the ongoing conflicts in the Amhara and Oromia regions of Ethiopia. These regions roughly constitute about two-thirds of the entire Ethiopian population. Also, there was no election in the Tigray region of Ethiopia due to the postwar situation and ongoing statement with the Federal govenment.
Apart from OFC, other opposition parties in the country criticized the election as one that was marked by irregularities in the course of the process.
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The major achievements of Tigray following its liberation of Oromia are the creation of self rule iand the formation of a multi-party political system in the region. The oromos had never had such a system before and politicians like professor Merera Gudina seized the opportunity and started functioning as an opposition force.
Dig it Tigra way,
It is ironic that Tig liberated Oromia and not itself. It is doubly bizarre that Qerroo kicked its liberator Tig raw in the behind so hard that the latter had to flee with its tail between its legs. Could you elaborate on that?
It is so amazing to see how a skillful survivor this elderly leader of this has been since the bloodbath days of the demonic Mengistu. His then party Meison’s leaders such as Haile Fida and hundreds others had perished at the guillotine of Mengistu. He somehow came out alive just with a slap on the wrist. But those in the opposition and survived had testified for him that they were not badly mistreated at prisons he was in charge of. He is also known to be mortally at odds with those who founded the OLF. He then somehow found employment at the university but was fired by the EPRDF. He is still at it with his ethnic politics. It has worked for him like a charm as a survivor and still moving to Minnesota not on his mind.