| [Ethiopia] NEBE Conducts its 3rd Referendum |
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| Last updated 2023-08-31 |
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On July 5, 2023, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) presented the report of the latest referendum conducted in six zones and five special districts of the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) Region of Ethiopia.
Based on the authority given to NEBE by
Proclamation No. 1162/2019 and Article 4 of the Constitution, NEBE is
responsible for conducting various types of elections, including referendums.
Referendums are conducted upon direct requests from the House of Federation
(HoF).
Following such request, NEBE conducted the referendum in six zones and five special districts on February 6, 2023.
Due to major irregularities in one of the five zones, Wolaita, the NEBE Board, made a decision to annul the result of the referendum for the Woliata Zone alone and to conduct a re-referendum in the Zone. The Federal Police conducted a thorough investigation, following which both the Federal Police and the Ministry of Justice confirmed instances of multiple grave operational infractions.
Following a series of consultations with
stakeholders, NEBE enlisted, for the re-referendum, a workforce of 9,060 poll
workers, with 5,436 from Addis Ababa and the remaining 3,624 from the Wolaita
Zone. NEBE provided the poll workers with training and conducted the
re-referendum on June 19, 2023, in 1812 polling stations in the Wolaita zone. Overall, the referendum was conducted in
six zones and five special districts of the SNNP at a grand total of 4,471
polling stations, with support from 35 referendum regulation centers. 22,355
poll workers participated. Out of 53,155 voters who voted in the referendum,
and out of these valid votes, 51,467 voted for the establishment of a new
Regional State.
Since the re-establishment of NEBE in 2019, the Board has conducted one general election and three referendums. |
