In this June 20, 2018, photo, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (MULUGETA AYENE / AP)

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia’s electoral board said on Wednesday it expects to hold national elections on Aug 16, 2020, the first vote under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who took office in 2018 and has directed political and economic reforms.

Birtukan Mideksa, the head of the electoral board, told Reuters that the date was tentative.

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Abiy released political prisoners and appointed former dissidents to high-level positions.

But the reforms have also unleashed long-simmering ethnic divisions, and the electoral board said last June that the security situation could delay this year’s election.

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But Abiy, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, said last week elections would be held this year in May or June despite concerns over security and logistics.