The Election Commission said the opening of polling stations and the postponement of voter registration delayed polling day.
After some opposition parties stated that they would not participate in the election, Ethiopia once again postponed the election. As the conflict in the country’s Tigri region meant no voting was held there, this further intensified Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s efforts to concentrate power.
Birtukan Mideksa, chairman of the National Election Commission of Ethiopia (NEBE), “said that the opening of polling stations and delays in voter registration promoted the polling day,” the state news agency Fana reported on Saturday.
Mideksa told Reuters that the election will not be held on June 5.
“We will let everyone [know] She added that it will take weeks or days to complete the delayed task…no more than three weeks.
Mideksa cited numerous logistical delays, such as completing voter registration, training electoral staff, printing and distributing ballots.
She said: “In fact, it is impossible to deliver all these products on the original date.”
The election is only a few weeks away, and there are few signs of campaign activities. Some opposition parties plan to boycott the vote, calling it a “farce.”
The vote was originally scheduled to take place in August last year, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the vote was postponed for the first time.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which ruled the northern region at the time, refused to postpone the elections and held regional elections in September.
This is the cause of the conflict between the TPLF and the Central Government of Addis Ababa, which has been ongoing since the beginning of November.
The fighting in Tigray has killed thousands of people and led the United States to allege that it is carrying out “ethnic cleansing” of the western part of the region, where approximately 6 million people live.
After taking office in 2018, the prime minister undertook extensive political reforms and won the Nobel Peace Prize the following year. He has repeatedly promised that this election will be free and fair.
If his Welfare Party wins a majority of seats in the National Assembly, Abiy will continue to serve.
