Current Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn (L), is favourite to retain the post but faces competition from leading challengers Debretsion Gebremikael (C) and Tewodros Adhanom (R)
Ethiopia in first vote since Meles Zenawi's death - BBC
Ethiopians are voting for a new parliament in the first election since the death of long-serving Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in 2012.
The current parliament has only one opposition MP - and Mr Zenawi's successor Hailemariam Desalegn is expected to hold on to power.
The opposition and human rights groups have accused the governing party of intimidation - a criticism it rejects.
Observers from the African Union are monitoring the poll.
Voting started at 06:00 (03:00 GMT) and closes at 18:00 pm (15:00 GMT).
Long queues formed at polling stations at dawn, reports the BBC's Emmanuel Igunza from the capital Addis Ababa.
Final results will not be known for a month.
Meles Zenawi's Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has been in power for almost a quarter of a century.
More than 36m Ethiopians - and 57 political groups - have registered for the election. Many of them are organised along ethnic lines.
Other contenders include the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum, a coalition known as Medrek [the Forum] and the Semayawi [Blue] Party, which has held protest rallies and draws support from young people.
In 2005, 174 opposition politicians won seats in the 547-seat parliament, but many did not take them up after pronouncing the vote rigged.
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