Voting started late in most polling stations throughout Addis Ababa although voters rose up early and started to line up at polling stations beginning 6:00 a.m.
One of the major reasons for delays in casting votes was the small number of election officers assigned at polling stations and the late appearance of the officers to the polling stations. For instance, among the five election officers assigned to supervise the election at Yeka constituency 28, polling station 7, only one election officer showed up, delaying the voting process until 8:00 a.m.
Election officer of the polling station Addis Damte confirmed to The Reporter that late officers make voters irritated. He stated “even though 1700 voters registered at polling station 7 and 481 voters registered at the sub-polling station, the election officers didn’t show up on time. Most of the voters were obliged to queue for so long, while some voters went back to their own business.”