Board, Govt Officials Review Election Process

ADDIS ABABA – Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, along with regional governors, met with the electoral board chief to review the progress of Ethiopia’s General Elections 2021.

Thursday’s virtual meeting took place a day after Chairperson of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) Birtukan Mideksa reveals insecurity is affecting the ongoing voters’ registration process.

Nearly half of the polling stations in the country have not started operation due to mainly insecurity making it difficult to register voters.

According to NEBE, about 25,151 polling stations are currently operational out of the 50,000 installed for the 2021 general election slated to be held on June 5.

Top government and NEBE officials convened on Thursday afternoon “to review progress and challenges”, according to Prime Minister Abiy.

Their meeting today was the second in two months following their February virtual meeting.

At the end of Thursday’s meeting, the PM said “direction has been set to ensure preparedness at polling stations is finalized and voters registered within the remaining time frame”.

“I encourage all to register for their voting card in the coming days,” he said. “Ensuring a democratic 6th national election is a responsibility for all”.

Ethiopia will hold its parliamentary election on June 5, this year, after polls scheduled for August 2020 were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.