1993 — Eritrea Votes for Independence

On April 23, 1993, polling stations opened across Eritrea for a three-day referendum on independence from Ethiopia, capping a 30-year liberation war. More than 1.1 million Eritreans registered to vote. When the ballots were counted, the verdict was almost total: 99.8 percent voted yes, on 98.5 percent turnout, in a process certified free and fair by United Nations observers.

Formal independence followed on May 24, 1993, and Eritrea joined the United Nations four days later. Africa's newest state was born at the ballot box, after three decades of war, by a vote as near to unanimous as a nation can speak.