Ethiopia’s National Election Board has announced that more than 50 million citizens have registered to vote in the country’s upcoming national election, as officials reveal budget shortfalls and reported disruptions in several regions.
The Board said 50,514,155 voters had been registered, including more than 45.1 million through manual processes and the remainder digitally. The figures were presented by the chairwoman, Melatwork Hailu, during a briefing that outlined voter demographics, logistics, financing and operational challenges.
The voter roll includes over 27.3 million men and more than 23.1 million women, according to the Board. Voters registration window closed as of today, Board disclosed.
Election preparations are underway nationwide, with 195,316 personnel deployed. About 70,000 election workers have so far been paid a combined one billion birr, officials said.
From The Reporter Magazine
NEBE reported that 48,829 polling stations have been established across the country, including 46,352 main stations, 1,500 sub-stations and 2,477 additional sites. A total of 614 constituencies are expected to take part in the vote.
Despite the scale of the preparations, the Board believes the 10 billion birr allocated by the government for the election is insufficient “under current operational conditions” and that it had formally requested additional funding. A response is pending.
The Board also said it had distributed 81 million birr to 36 political parties to support their participation.
From The Reporter Magazine
On media access, NEBE said 37 outlets had been accredited to cover the election and that 1,131 journalists had received credentials. In addition, 169 civil society organizations have been registered as observers. International monitoring missions from the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development are expected to observe the vote.
Officials acknowledged disruptions in parts of Oromia, Amhara, Harar and Sidama regions, where some polling sites have been closed over allegations of illegal voter registration. Nationwide, 22 polling stations have been shut down because of irregularities, the board said.
In the Tigray region, NEBE said it was still seeking conditions to conduct voting but currently had no operational communication with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which it said had been disqualified from participation.
As part of its outreach efforts, the Board said it had organized seven political party debates to encourage public engagement.
The election, Ethiopia’s seventh national vote, is scheduled to take place in 39 days, marking what officials described as the final phase of preparations.
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