The African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) has launched its observer orientation and briefing in Addis Ababa ahead of Ethiopia’s 1 June 2026 general elections.

The African Union Election Observation Mission is in Ethiopia to observe the upcoming general elections.

The high-level mission, deployed at the formal invitation of the Government of Ethiopia, is being led by former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The mission is deploying 73 short-term observers drawn from 37 African countries, with women making up 61% of the team. The observers include election officials, civil society representatives, human rights experts, gender specialists, media professionals, and youth delegates.

Over the two-day briefing, the participants will cover election related issues including the code of conduct for AU election observers, security awareness briefing, political environment and key findings of the Pre-election Assessment Mission (PAM).

They will also discuss on political and historical context of the 2026 elections constitutional and legal framework of the 2026 elections in Ethiopia, perspectives of the electoral process from Ethiopian CSOs, the AU methodology of election observation, benchmarks and principles for democratic elections.

The briefings also cover international and AU instruments for election assessments, media landscape and the role of the media in elections and an overview of election administration by the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE).

The observers will be deployed across different regions of Ethiopia to monitor key election-day activities, including the opening of polling stations, voting procedures, vote counting, and the tabulation of results.

The AUEOM stated that its assessment will be guided by Ethiopia’s legal framework governing elections, the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), and other regional and international standards for democratic elections.

During its mission, the AU delegation is also expected to engage with state institutions, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), political parties, candidates, civil society organizations, media representatives, members of the diplomatic community, and other election observation missions operating in the country.

The mission is scheduled to release a preliminary statement on its observations and assessment of the electoral process during a press conference in Addis Ababa on June 3, 2026.

According to the African Union, a final and comprehensive report containing the mission’s findings and recommendations will be published within two months after the elections.