Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed cast his ballot in Jimma Zone, Oromia Region, on Monday, warning of alleged interference in the national election by external forces.

Ahmed, in power for eight years, leads the Prosperity Party, which has governed since 2019 after succeeding the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the ruling coalition from 1991 to 2018.

"In order to prevent the election from going smoothly as planned, Ethiopia's historical enemies have deployed their forces; they have carried out propaganda; they have tried to make us believe that democratic elections are not possible in Ethiopia. However, the Ethiopian people, as they always do at crucial times, have shown the great spirit of heroism and have been holding the election in all the streets I have come to since morning. This is a step by which the Ethiopian people have shown that they do not need a mentor or a guide to build their state and a democratic system and to decide what they want to build in Ethiopia. What concerns me today is the electorate."