The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has announced the seventh nationwide national elections will be held in June 2026 including in restive Amhara and Tigray regions where the federal government is struggling to restore its authority.
Briefing journalists on Monday, Melatework Hailu, Chairperson of NEBE, said that preparations are well underway nationwide.
“We have an office in Tigray, and just like in other regions, we are preparing for the election” she said.
According to an assessment by APA, a large swathes of the Amhara region, except urban areas are out of the control of the federal government whose troops have suffered multiple defeats in the hands of FANO militants.
Two months ago, NEBE terminated the legal status of the Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front, which is a prominent political party in the Tigray region where other political parties are not operating.
Both Amhara and Tigray regions are home to 40 percent of the Ethiopian population which is over 130 million people.
In Oromia too, the federal government’s control is fragile with not more than half of the region under its authority.
Defending the revised “Ethiopian Electoral, Political Parties Registration, and Electoral Code of Conduct Proclamation,” recently approved by the House of People’s Representatives, Hailu said extensive consultations were held with various stakeholders prior to the revision.
She explained that the existing proclamation [No. 1162/2011] was amended to address challenges encountered during the implementation of the 6th national election, drawing on lessons from several countries.
The NEBE chair announced that 26 articles of the proclamation have been amended as the revisions aim to integrate technology into the election process and to enhance the participation of youth and women.
Regarding the formation of national political parties, she explained that previously, a party had to have 40 percent of its members from its base and 15 percent from each of four regions (totaling 60 percent) to qualify as national.
Now, due to the increase in regions, a party must have at least 10 percent of its members from six or more regions outside its base, ensuring representation in at least half of the country’s regions.
Melatework further highlighted that government employees running for office were previously granted unpaid leave to campaign.
The amendment now allows them to take paid leave.
Addressing the five-year suspensions of political parties, she explained that parties previously faced deregistration if they failed to address suspension reasons. The new law allows suspensions for up to five years to preserve party existence.
MG/as/APA