— Endorsement does not legitimize Ethiopian election—protest letter to African Union Chairperson !!!
— H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson
African Union Commission
— Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
— June 25, 2026
— Nu—18/10/16/012
— Re: The African Union Commission’s Validation of Ethiopia’s June 1 Electoral Facade
Your Excellency,
The African Union Commission’s praise of Ethiopia’s June 1 election disregards the realities under which the vote was conducted. To characterize the election as a democratic achievement while the Ethiopian state continues to wage war across multiple regions of the country undermines the very principles of democracy elections are meant to uphold.
The election cannot reasonably be considered representative of the Ethiopian people. Large portions of the country, including Amhara, Tigray and parts of Oromia, were excluded from meaningful participation due to ongoing military operations, and government control measures. An election that proceeds while millions of citizens are effectively unable to participate does not derive legitimacy from the act of voting alone.
An election derives its credibility from the political conditions surrounding it. In Ethiopia, those conditions are defined by war, political repression, and the systematic erasure of civic space. Independent media under Prosperity Party is nonexistent. Journalists, opposition figures, and political activists are imprisoned. Public discourse has been constrained to the extent that the state determines which voices may participate in national political life and which voices may not.
The Commission’s endorsement also overlooks the means through which power is maintained. The Prosperity Party’s position cannot be understood solely through electoral outcomes while military campaigns, drone warfare, mass arrests, and mass violence and brutality continue across the country. These realities are not separate from the election, they form the environment in which it occurred.
By validating the June 1 election, the African Union Commission risks conveying that elections conducted during war, genocide and widespread political repression are sufficient to secure democratic legitimacy. Such a message weakens confidence in continental institutions and diminishes the standards that democratic processes are expected to meet.
We therefore urge the African Union Commission to withdraw its endorsement of Ethiopia’s election. A durable peace in Ethiopia will not be achieved through electoral certification of a process that excluded millions of citizens. It requires an end to military campaigns against civilian populations, the release of political prisoners, the formation of fundamental political freedoms, and the creation of conditions under which all Ethiopians can participate meaningfully in shaping their country’s future.
Respectfully,
Addis Ababa Media Council