Polling stations in Ethiopia’s Tigray region opened at 06:00 local time on Wednesday.
Voters began casting their votes across the 2,672 polling stations.
The Tigrinya service’s Girmay Gebru says voters had been queuing for hours before the polling stations opened.
Voters were wearing masks and their temperatures checked before entering polling stations.
Polling closes at 18:00 local time and results are expected to be announced on Thursday if counting ends according to plan.
More than 2.7 million voters are registered to vote.
