Addis ababa: The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has issued an additional statement regarding the conduct of the 7th General Election, announcing an extension of voting hours across the country.
According to Ethiopian News Agency, the Board noted that voting for the 7th General Election was initially scheduled from 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. on Monday, June 1, 2026. However, after reviewing reports from election monitoring teams deployed nationwide, the Board decided to extend the voting period to accommodate ongoing queues at various polling stations.
The decision to extend voting hours is backed by Article 49(4) of Ethiopia's Election, Political Parties Registration and Election Code of Conduct Proclamation No. 1162/2019. This article grants the Board the authority to extend voting hours if it's believed to enhance the freedom and fairness of the electoral process.
As a result, NEBE has announced that polling stations where the voting process had not yet been completed by the scheduled closing time will remain open until midnight. Conversely, at stations where all registered voters have already cast their ballots, election officials are instructed to proceed with the vote-counting process.