Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed wins big in elections

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is the big winner following the country's general election as his party has retained its overwhelming parliamentary majority, despite the poll being overshadowed by conflict, accusations of repression and little participation by opposition parties, reports BBC News. The Prosperity Party, which won 438 of the 501 contested seats, will form the new government with Abiy set to be sworn in for another term at the beginning of October. It is a boon for Abiy's supporters, who believe he will continue with the economic gains he has overseen. The 49-year-old first came to power amid anti-government protests in 2018, and he was at first hailed for his campaign to heal divisions – though he upset politicians from the northern region of Tigray who had dominated the government for more than two decades. Just a year later he won the Nobel Peace Prize, mainly for his efforts in ending hostilities with Ethiopia's northern neighbour Eritrea. But security experts fear the country could be heading back to war, while the violent and deadly insurgencies in Ethiopia's Amhara and Oromia regions show no sign of ending. On election day, 143 polling stations failed to open in the country's two most-populous regions because of safety concerns caused by armed groups fighting the government. The situation is also troubling in Tigray, which is still recovering from a two-year civil war that only ended in 2022. Addis Ababa has also been accused of involvement in the civil war in Sudan, which borders both Ethiopia and Eritrea. It all makes for a toxic cocktail which could potentially spread across the region – and it does not look like Abiy is about to play peacemaker.