Going against the government’s decision to postpone parliamentary and regional elections in the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), the governing party in the Tigray region of Ethiopia has announced its decision to hold general elections in the region separately, stating that preparations for the process are already well underway.
The party announced its decision this week, after a three-day meeting, during which it said it extensively discussed on current regional administration works, including the region’s efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision also comes after four alternatives were presented by the federal government to address governing while the pandemic continues.
“We are making preparations including the holding of a regional election in order to safeguard the rights of our people from chaos,” a TPLF statement said. It did not mention a date for the vote.
Further addressing the issue of postponement, TPLF accused the national Prosperity Party and the federal government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of dragging its feet with regards to the election way before the COVID-19 pandemic became a big issue in Ethiopia, describing their actions as “a good opportunity to establish a one-man authoritarian rule” and to strengthen the party’s efforts to extend its office term “unconstitutionally.”
A Party cannot hold Elections on its own – NEBE
TPFL’s plan to hold elections in the Tigray region in Ethiopia has been described as unconstitutional by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE)
Responding to the announcement NEBE Chairwoman, Birtukan Midekissa in a nationwide broadcast said the neither the TPFL nor the regional administration has informed the board directly about their intentions to hold elections in the state.
“The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia is constitutionally mandated to hold impartial, free, fair and acceptable national, regional and local elections. Hence the governing party of the Tigray region, or the region itself or any regional administrations and the federal government are not allowed to pass a decision on matters of election time table, execution, preparations, and so on,” Birtukan said.
The electoral board can organize elections at the regional level based on Article 1162 of the Ethiopian election law due to specific cases but the Tigray regional government did not request NEBE if the election can be held in the region, the chairwoman added.
Ethiopia previously announced the postponement of all polls scheduled to hold in August, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government has also tabled four controversial proposals as potential remedies to manage the power vacuum that would occur when its current term expires on October 10.
