As Ethiopians head to the polls, François Picard is pleased to welcome Jervin Naidoo, Political Analyst at Oxford Economics Africa. While official narratives emphasise stability and democratic progress, significant portions of the country remain excluded from voting, raising concerns about representation, legitimacy, and the consolidation of power. Naidoo argues that while voting has proceeded in much of the country, the exclusion of Tigray and dozens of constituencies elsewhere constitutes “a big problem” that “hurts the government’s legitimacy.”