On Monday, millions of voters in southern Ethiopia will vote in a referendum to establish a new regional state. This is the third referendum of its kind held in the country’s south in the last four years.
Previous elections resulted in the formation of the Sidama and South-Western Ethiopia regions.
More than three million people have registered to vote in this election, which will take place in six sub-regional administrative units (zones) and five districts in the Southern Ethiopian Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNP) region.
If the referendum passes, the new region will be known as Southern Ethiopia.