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Pro and anti-PM, Ethiopians campaign ahead of key elections next week

Supporters of Ethiopian opposition party Ezema hold a last event in Addis Ababa as campaigning ends ahead of general elections on Monday. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appears before thousands of supporters at a last campaign event ahead of general elections on 21 June, in the southern city of Jimma. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed outlined his vision of a peaceful, united and prosperous Ethiopia on Wednesday at a final campaign rally ahead of key elections next week. The upbeat speech, in the southern town of Jimma, comes at a time of widespread ethnic unrest and economic difficulties, as well as a conflict in the northern Tigray region where the UN warns 350,000 people face famine. Staging the polls in the vast country of 110 million is a logistical challenge at the best of times, worsened by unrest, conflict and Covid-19. The coronavirus pandemic triggered the initial 10-month postponement of the original August 2020 vote, while technical hitches forced a subsequent weeks-long delay last month.