The opposition politician explicitly denied writing the viral statement, confirming that the page sharing the claim is an imposter profile.
A viral post circulated on a Facebook page operating under MistreSilasie Tamerat’s name, claiming that the election was a “sham of democracy” and accusing Prosperity Party cadres of manipulating is FAKE.
The post reads, “A Sham of Democracy: Prosperity Party’s Blatant Electoral Malpractice. Today, national elections are underway across all regions of Ethiopia. However, the voting process observed today was deeply shocking and a complete mockery of democratic principles. In an unprecedented display of lawlessness, Prosperity Party operatives spent the day aggressively manipulating voters forcing them into specific booths and explicitly dictating where to place their checkmarks to guarantee their own re-election. This blatant interference completely strips citizens of their constitutional right to a free and fair vote.”
Ethiopia held its 7th General Election on June 1, 2026, with millions of citizens casting ballots for representatives in the federal parliament and regional state councils. MistreSilasie Tamerat played a highly visible role in this election cycle as the Secretary General of the opposition Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) and a candidate for the Coalition for Ethiopian Unity.
As one of the prominent female and youngest political leaders running in the 2026 election, she has been heavily involved in public debates. In high-profile international media interviews given around the election period, she openly criticized the competitiveness of the political space.
Speaking to media outlets, she stated that her coalition would completely refuse to accept any legislative seats, arguing that the electoral environment heavily favored the ruling party and lacked genuine democratic credibility. Her highly visible stance as a staunch critic of the process made her identity a prime target for malicious actors seeking to manufacture inflammatory, election-related disinformation.
Our investigation confirms that the Facebook page spreading this rumor is an imposter account and does not belong to the politician. A closer analysis of the copycat profile reveals that it is an unverified account with only 5,400 followers.
To verify the page’s authenticity, Menahria Radio 99.1 contacted MistreSilasie Tamerat directly via WhatsApp. She explicitly disavowed the post and the account, stating:
“The Facebook account spreading these claims does not belong to me; it is an imposter profile. I did not write the statement regarding electoral malpractice or booth violations.”
She subsequently provided a link to her genuine, verified Facebook page to demonstrate the manipulation. Her authentic profile features a blue verification badge, boasts over 64,000 followers, and lists her official handle as MistresilasieT, highlighting a stark discrepancy in audience size and verification status when compared to the fake account.
Furthermore, the fake Facebook page used an AI-generated image in its post to back up its claim, which serves as a critical piece of evidence supporting our conclusion. Menahria Radio 99.1 ran an analysis of the attached press briefing image through Hive Moderation. The tool revealed that it is 99.9% likely to be an AI-generated image, displaying high-confidence indicators of synthetic creation.
The background elements, including a fabricated organizational seal, nonsensical text configurations, and the official’s likeness, were entirely computer-generated to deceive the public into believing a real emergency press conference had taken place.
Google reverse image search, Yandex, and TinEye further confirm that the image was only shared on unverified social media handles and was not published by any credible media organization, nor did the board ever make statements regarding systemic booth manipulation.
Menahria Radio 99.1 examined a Facebook page claiming to belong to EPRP Secretary General MistreSilasie Tamerat and found it to be an IMPOSTER account.
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This fact-check was produced by Getahun Asnake a Journalist at Menahria Radio 99.1 as part of the African Fact-Checking Alliance’s (AFCA) incubation programme. It was produced with peer-mentorship from Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, PesaCheck, with financial support from Norway. AFCA mentorship respects the journalistic independence of the researchers, offering access to advanced techniques and tools. Editorial decision-making remains with Addis Powerhouse . Want to learn more? Visit: https://factcheck.africa/
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