Voters in Ethiopia will cast their ballots on June 1, 2026, while the country faces internal security challenges and heightened competition for power in the Horn of Africa. Regional powers like Egypt, the UAE,Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel are pushing for influence in this strategically vital region, already destabilized by Sudan's conflict and disputes over the Red Sea.
Analysts say the rivalry between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Nile River and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)continues to shape regional politics, including competing alignments in Sudan's civil war.
Kebour Ghenna, executive director of Initiative Africa and a former opposition candidate, says opposition parties are fragmented and weak as this election approaches.
"The Ethiopian elections unfold less as a genuine democratic contest and more as a mechanism for maintaining state legitimacy in a context of weakened opposition, regional instability, and growing external geopolitical competition in the Horn of Africa," he told DW in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital.Why Ethiopia's mega dam is causing tensions with EgyptTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
