Police arrested a former independent candidate in Dire Dawa weeks after he withdrew from the race, citing a loss of confidence in the electoral process, Meseret Media reported. Opposition critics described the arrest as part of alleged efforts under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to stifle political competition. Ethiopian opposition parties and human rights groups have also accused authorities of using intimidation and arbitrary restrictions to influence election outcomes.

Meseret Media reported that Habtamu Alemu Shewa, a medical doctor, was arrested on June 16 while he was on his way to work.

Security forces reportedly searched Habtamu’s residence after his arrest and confiscated laptops and other personal electronic devices said to be relevant to the investigation, according to a website citing eyewitnesses.

In a message sent to media hours before his arrest and later made public, Dr. Habtamu Alemu Shewa said his elder brother, Aseged Alemu, a father of two, had also been detained after being called from his workplace by phone on Monday morning. He said his brother had been detained by Dire Dawa police without having committed any unlawful act, and that his residence had been searched without any concrete evidence, as if he were a terrorist, according to Meseret Media.
Dr. Habtamu, who was running as an independent candidate, had publicly withdrawn from the election, citing alleged legal violations by Dire Dawa security forces and saying the Ethiopian National Electoral Board had failed to adequately respond to his complaints.

At the time, he reportedly said that his supporters and friends were being deliberately detained, that bail was being denied, and that intimidation was being used to discourage public support for him.

The total election results have not yet been declared; however, the country’s ruling party, Prosperity Party, has won 23 of the 40 seats in the House of Peoples’ Representatives in constituencies where tallies have been verified, according to the National Election Board of Ethiopia on Wednesday. A total of 501 seats were contested in the legislature, which elects the Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed.