Abiy Ahmed's Prosperity Party takes 438 of 547 seats, cementing control despite Tigray exclusion and Amhara unrest

Results confirmed June 21 with 90% of ballots counted; EZEMA wins 13, NaMA 6; monitors say voting was free in fewer than half the constituencies

Summary

Ethiopia's parliamentary elections, held June 1, 2026, produced a landslide for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's Prosperity Party, which took 438 of 547 seats when 90% of results were confirmed on June 21. The Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (EZEMA) won 13 seats and the National Movement of Amhara (NaMA) won 6, with the remainder split across independents and smaller regional parties. Tigray was excluded from the vote entirely, with the National Electoral Board citing ongoing security concerns; elections in parts of Amhara and Oromia were disrupted by active conflict with the Oromo Liberation Army and Fano militia. African Union and European Union monitors jointly praised administrative organisation while noting "significant constraints on political competition" in conflict-affected regions. Abiy will seek a new five-year term as prime minister on the strength of the result.

The split

The Ethiopian government and state media frame the result as a democratic mandate and a sign of normalisation following the 2020-2022 Tigray war. Addis Standard and opposition parties describe it as a managed competition rather than a free election, pointing to Tigray's blanket exclusion and low participation in Amhara and Oromia. The AU observer mission threaded a diplomatic needle: validating the process administratively while flagging political constraints, a formulation that gives the government cover without fully endorsing the result. Western governments, including the US and EU, called for Tigray's inclusion in future polls without conditioning aid or relations on it.

By the numbers

438 seats, won by Abiy's Prosperity Party out of 547 total
13 seats, EZEMA (main opposition, down from prior showing)
6 seats, NaMA (Amhara nationalist, collapsed from prior showing amid security crisis)
90%, proportion of constituencies reporting when results were announced June 21
0 constituencies, Tigray regions excluded from the vote
~120 million, Ethiopia's population, the largest in sub-Saharan Africa

Why it matters

A PP supermajority gives Abiy the parliamentary numbers to amend the constitution without opposition support, a significant expansion of executive power at a moment when Tigray's political reintegration remains unresolved, Amhara's Fano militia is fighting federal forces, and Oromia's OLA continues a low-grade insurgency. Ethiopia is the African Union's host state, and Abiy's weakened democratic legitimacy complicates the AU's already strained credibility on election-monitoring norms across the continent, notably in the Sahel, where juntas cite electoral fraud as justification for coups.

What to watch

Whether Tigray's Tigrayan People's Liberation Front accepts delayed participation or boycotts federal politics entirely
The timing and conditions for elections in Tigray, Amhara, and OLA-controlled Oromia zones
Whether Abiy uses the supermajority to push constitutional amendments before the next term begins
AU and US positions on Tigray inclusion as a condition for renewed normalisation talks

the record · 1

Ethiopian National Electoral Board — The Ethiopian National Electoral Board confirmed preliminary results on June 21 with 90% of constituencies reporting: Prosperity Party 438 seats, Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (EZEMA) 13, National Movement of Amhara (NaMA) 6, independents and smaller parties 90. Results from Tigray, where elections were postponed indefinitely citing security, are absent from totals.

Regional takes · 2

▸ non-aligned, Global South framing

Al Jazeera · Qatar · en · Jun 22, 2026

Al Jazeera reported the PP landslide as reinforcing Abiy's hold on the federal state but flagged that Tigray's exclusion and voting disruptions in Amhara and Oromia mean that about a third of Ethiopia's population did not freely participate. Election monitors from the AU and EU issued a joint statement praising the administrative conduct while noting 'significant constraints on political competition' in conflict-affected regions.

“A third of Ethiopia's population in Tigray, Amhara, and parts of Oromia did not freely participate in elections monitors said were constrained.”

Source ↗

▸ Ethiopian independent press

Addis Standard · Ethiopia · en · Jun 21, 2026

Addis Standard, Ethiopia's leading independent outlet, reported on the scene across Addis Ababa and Oromia polling stations; quoted opposition leaders saying the results reflected 'a managed competition, not a free election,' and noted that NaMA's 6 seats represent a collapse from its prior showing given Amhara's ongoing security crisis. The paper also reported low turnout in areas of Oromia affected by OLA clashes.

“NaMA's 6 seats represent a collapse from prior performance as Amhara's security crisis suppressed political participation.”

Source ↗