Addis Ababa, Jun 15 (IANS): The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) said that it has given badges to more than 45,000 local observers for the polls scheduled to take place on June 21.

More than 167 local civic organizations have been given recognition by the board to conduct voters training programs, Solyana Shimelis, the NEBE spokeswoman, told the media late Monday.

"NEBE has also prepared 44,372 polling stations which are expected to be used to cast votes," Xinhua news agency quoted the spokeswoman as saying.

More than 8,200 candidates have registered for the upcoming sixth national general elections scheduled for June 21, the NEBE has said.

Under Ethiopia's parliamentary government system, the Prime Minister, who is the highest authority of the country, is selected from the party that wins the most seats at the federal parliament level, and will be sworn in after the parliamentary vote.

Last week, the African Union (AU) deployed its long-term observers for the elections.

Drawn from various AU member states, eight long-term observers arrived in the capital Addis Ababa on June 2 and 3 to undertake observation and analysis of key aspects of the electoral process.

The long-term observers, deployed in teams to cover different locations in the country, will be joined later by short-term observers, who will arrive in Ethiopia's capital, approximately a week before the election day, according to the AU.

More than 31.7 million Ethiopians including more than 1.2 million prospective voters in Ethiopia's capital city, Addis Ababa, have registered to cast their ballots.