Election Board Proscribes TPLF Ahead Of Party’s 50th Anniversary

TPLF Chairman, TIA President finally agree to sit for talks

The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has suspended the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) from all political activity for 90 days as the northernmost region’s ruling party prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

The Board announced its decision in a statement issued on Thursday, accusing the TPLF of failing to hold a federally recognized general assembly and elect its leaders within the six-month window granted to it when it was officially reinstated in August last year.

The failure violates the terms of the ‘special registration’ accorded to the party under the recently amended Electoral Proclamation, according to the Board.

The TPLF lost its legal status as a political party, and was labeled a terrorist group by the federal government, during the two-year northern war.

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On 9 August, 2024, the NEBE re-registered the TPLF as a party, but with special preconditions. The terms dictated that before the registration process could move forward, the TPLF was obliged to conduct a general assembly, elect new leaders, and ratify party bylaws.

It was this ultimatum that expired on February 10, 2025, according to the NEBE statement, that triggered the decision to suspend the party.

However, TPLF issued statement on Friday February 14, 2025, stressing that TPLF license must be reinstated in line with the Pretoria agreement.

NEBE’s suspension comes amid a political feud among TPLF leadership, with the party caught between two factions led by Chairman Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD) and Tigray Interim Administration (TIA) President Getachew Reda.

The Board’s decision also coincides with the party’s 50th anniversary.

On Wednesday, both feuding officials met diplomats from the US, UK, and other countries, who were in Mekelle for consultations on the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities signed in 2022 in Pretoria, South Africa, between the federal government and the TPLF.

The CoH provided for a ceasefire as well as disarmament and demobilization of TPLF-affiliated fighters and regional security forces.

According to a report posted on relief web, until the start of the new year, Tigray security forces chose not to express support for either group, maintaining that the two factions should settle their disputes through peaceful dialogue.

“However, on 23 January 2025, approximately 200 senior leaders from the Tigray forces issued a statement endorsing the resolutions from the 14^th general assembly convened by the Debretsion faction and calling for the reorganization of the interim administration to include members from the Debretsion-led TPLF. Several high-ranking officials within the Tigray forces, including General Tadesse Werede, the commander-in-chief, were not involved,” it said, citing media reports.

It was this resolution issued by the Tigray security force leaders that caused widespread fear of a resurgence of violence in the region. At least 31 demonstrations were held between January 25 and 27 in

major towns and cities across Tigray, including Mekelle.

No fewer than 13 demonstrations were reported in support of the security leaders’ decision and they were staged in Central, Eastern, North Western, and South Eastern Tigray zones, and Mekelle. Meanwhile, 17 demonstrations were staged in Mekelle and across the Southern, Eastern, North Western, Central and South Eastern Tigray zones in opposition to the decision from military leaders.

The TPLF has yet to issue a response to the Board, but party officials have said the suspension does not augur well for the future of relations between the party and the federal government.

Meanwhile, the political dispute in Tigray could be winding down following months of escalating tensions as Debretsion and Getachew have agreed to sit down for talks.

Religious leaders and elders who have been attempting to mediate between the two announced this week that the party Chairman and the TIA President have both agreed on a code of conduct for an upcoming round of negotiations.

The brief code of conduct document, which includes five provisions, indicates the two parties have pledged to refrain from inciting conflict and disseminating inflammatory rhetoric, while they have also agreed to work together to prevent intimidation tactics and possible attacks on individuals and party members standing on either side of the feud.

The pair have also agrred to announce any and all outcomes of the upcoming negotiations through the elders that arranged the mediation.

The preliminary agreement comes on the heels of rising uneasiness in Tigray, with residents withdrawing hundreds of millions of birr from banks out of fear of further conflict. The deposit rush and ensuing panic buying have led to a scarcity of commodities, according to sources in the region.

Contributed by Nardos Yoseph&Addis Getachew