US ‘gravely concerned’ ahead of elections in Ethiopia

Washington says ethnic violence and detentions of opposition figures will raise doubts about the vote’s credibility.

The United States has voiced concerns ahead of Ethiopia’s elections, saying ethnic violence and detentions of opposition figures will raise doubts about the vote’s credibility. Africa’s second-most populous nation holds elections on June 21 in which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in 2018 on promises to break with the authoritarian past, is seeking a new mandate. But the reputation of the Nobel Peace Prize winner has been tarnished as he has waged a military campaign in the Tigray region, where the United Nations warned on Friday that tens of thousands of children risk starvation.