Ethiopia’s Electoral Board on Wednesday proposed to postpone this year’s May general election to August, reported Reuters.
During a meeting of political parties and civil society groups, Bertukan Mideksa, the Chairman of the Board, said the vote for parliament and regional councils in May had been postponed as neither authorities nor parties would be ready by that time. The new election date has been set on Sunday, August 16, 2020, and the election result for regions will be disclosed between August 17 and August 26.
The voter registration will take place from April 7, 2020, to May 6, 2020. The candidates will have to submit election symbols to the board between April 7, 2020, to April 16, 2020. The election campaign will begin May 5 to August 11 of this year. There will be no campaign between August 12 and August 15. The Board has also disclosed that parties cannot launch their campaigns.
One opposition political party said the August election date was unsuitable as it is a fasting day for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and falls during the rainy season.
“There are concerns that need to be resolved and addressed specifically on the schedule,” Desalegn Chane, president of the opposition National Movement of Amhara, told in an interview with Reuters.
The upcoming elections will be the first poll under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who has eased political restrictions and taken steps to open the economy since taking office in 2018. Abiy was appointed in 2018 after three years of anti-government protests. During his first year in office, Abiy tried to reach peace with longtime foe and neighbor Eritrea, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
As part of Abiy’s efforts to unite the country, the ruling coalition approved a merger of three of its four ethnic-based parties into a single national party in November.
