 If the European Prime Minister, Abir Ahmed, voted on Monday in national and regional elections that he has built as proof of his commencement to democracy after decades of repressive rule in Africa's second most populous nation, although voting was delayed due to violence in some areas and the position parties boycotted the poll in others, greeted by a crowd of supporters as he entered the polling station, Abir voted in Bishasha and central Ethiopia. Abir, who is 45, oversaw sweeping political and economic reforms after his appointment in 2018 by the ruling coalition, resolved to the vote could reverberate the young Ethiopia. The Horn of African Nation is a diplomatic havoid in a volatile region, providing peacekeepers to Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan. It also is one of the world's biggest frontier markets. Now, the head of the African Union's Observer Mission and former Nigerian President, Ulusha Gorbasonjo, says despite some handicaps, the parliamentary election in Ethiopia is going reasonably well. Gorbasonjo said the general impression is that this election, in spite of some handicaps, is a lot better than the previous one in terms of opening the space for electoral participation. I've met leadership of this country at the highest level. I've met all the organizations that are involved in the preparation for the election. The general impression given is that this election, in spite of the handicaps, and I will talk about the handicaps in a moment, has been a lot better than elections in the past in terms of opening more space for election participation. The handicaps, of course, are understandable. Now, the rise in ethnic tensions in that country have been highlighted as a major setback, as voting continues in the country's regional and parliamentary elections. UN's human rights chief, Michel Bachelet, said that nearly a fifth of the constituencies is not taken part in the poll because of insecurity and irregularities. They include the whole of the Tigray region, where a civil war broke out in November. During the 47th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Ms Bachelet said the volatile situation needed to be addressed and called for a political dialogue.