the northern region of tigay remains -- tigray remains in conflict.least 300 50,000 people face famine. thousands have been displaced. there are allegations of rights abuses. the u.n. imposed sanctions in response to the crisis. ethnic divisions have been growing, particularly between ethiopia's two largest ethnic groups, and ethiopia is in a dispute with sudan and egypt over its hydroelectric dam. let's bring in r guests. adem abebe's program officer at the international institute for democracy. a warm welcome to you all. samuel, let me start with you. how have people in ethiopia viewed this election? do they actually see this as the beginning of a real transition to democracy? samuel: i woke up just after 5:00 to get to the polls. the line was supposed to start at 6:00. my polling station -- i can't vote because i don't have ethiopianitizenship, but the line was long. people were excited. it's not going to be the most perfect election, but ethiopia has never known an election that is perfect. people want to express ideas. they wan to highlight issue