| [Ethiopia] The National Election Board of Ethiopia conducted the 6th General Elections in two rounds |
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| Last updated 2023-02-28 |
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2022 Mar. contributed by the National Election Board of Ethiopia
The new National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) commenced its work with all members on board during mid-2019. A new Proclamation to regulate and register Political Parties was subsequently approved by Parliament. The Proclamation is followed by a number of Directives for ease of its implementation. The NEBE currently has a total of 368 employees, and 11 Regional Branch Offices. Institutional reform is still ongoing.
The NEBE conducted Ethiopia’s long-awaited 6th general
elections in two rounds: on 21 June and 30 September 2021; the General
Elections (in June) were suspended in some Constituencies due to security concerns
and ongoing investigations into some allegations. The June elections were conducted in seven Regions and two City
Administrations for 425 out of 547 constituencies of the House of People’s
Representatives (HoPR) and for more than 1,600 regional representatives. 38
million voters went to the polls in the June election. 47 Political Parties and
165 independent candidates took part in the June 2021 elections. The elections
were hosted at over 47,000 polling stations and manned by over 180,000 trained poll
workers supported by the NEBE staff. On 10 July 2021, the results were
announced, declaring the Ethiopian Prosperity Party the winner.
Elections in more than 84 constituencies which could not be held in
June were conducted on 30 September 2021, where 7.7 million voters in three
Regions cast their ballots for Parliamentary and Regional Council elections. In
the September elections, twenty-two political parties and 106 independent
candidates ran for 375 Regional Council seats and 47 federal parliament seats
(House of Peoples' Representatives). On this day, a South West referendum was
held in 12 constituencies in Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities, and
Peoples' Region (SNNPR) and voters voted in favor of the formation of the 11th
Regional State in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopia’s 6th general elections were held at a time
when the country faced enormous security, technical and logistical challenges due
to both international and external factors. Nevertheless, the elections were
considered by many as an opportunity to break with the country’s authoritarian
past and, going forward, as an opportunity to develop more inclusive,
transparent, and accountable governance in the country.
The Ethiopia’s 6th general elections were preceded by reforms introduced in 2018, leading to widespread political and social changes, including greater freedoms and political space for citizens, civil society organizations (CSOs), political parties, and the media.
Unlike previous elections, which were usually conducted in the absence of much meaningful checks and balances, the 6th General Elections were observed by 42 domestic CSOs (which fielded 47,017 observers, with women accounting for about 68%) and 291 observers with disabilities. Four international observer missions and several domestic and international media monitored and documented the elections. All observer missions that observed the elections recognized the transparency of the process and the independence that the election management body, the judiciary, the CSOs and the media enjoyed. They also pointed out the challenges and constraints and made several recommendations. The NEBE is currently undergoing a major participatory and externally-facilitated ‘Lessons Learnt’ exercise in which the NEBE staff, major stakeholders and partners are taking part. Based on the findings and recommendations, the NEBE will be charting out strategies to build on its success and address past challenges.
Relevant publication Newsletter<Publication<News·Publications< A-WEB (aweb.org)
Relevant data World Election Database<World Election Database<Election Data< A-WEB (aweb.org)
#aweb #worldelectiondata
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