TPLF Rejects Election Board’s Call For General Assembly

Central committee says it has no intentions to meet February 10 deadline

The wing of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) under the leadership of Chairman Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD) has rejected an order from the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to organize a general assembly ahead of a deadline in February 2025.

In a notice issued last month, the Board stated that despite repeated reminders, TPLF had shown no indication of making preparations for a mandatory general congress ahead of an impending deadline on February 10, 2025.

Election officials warned the party to make preparations for a general assembly in line with the terms of its August 2024 reinstatement under ‘special circumstances,’ which require it to hold an assembly within six months. The Board expects to be notified of the date of the assembly three weeks in advance, and the meeting must take place in the presence of NEBE-appointed observers, according to the notice.

However, in a statement released on January 17, 2025, following three days of discussions on current regional and national affairs, the TPLF central committee accused the Board of acting maliciously.

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“The Board should refrain from issuing such malintended orders as the recent letter ordering the party to hold general assembly, and it should instead focus more on aiding efforts to resume political dialogue,” reads the statement.

The TPLF, under Debretsion’s leadership, organized a party congress in August 2024 without NEBE approval. It now has less than a month to comply, with the Board threatening legal consequences if it fails to do so.

The assembly does not seem likely.

“The decisions taken to harm Tigray by banning its organizations are still going strong. One of such moves is the conspiracy to deny our party the legal recognition it is due. Our party is a signatory to the Pretoria Agreement. It holds the majority vote of the Interim Administration. It has also been involved in matters related with the Ethiopian government and other bodies such as the African Union. However, the Ethiopian Election Board revoked the legality of the party in January 2021,” reads the TPLF statement.

The party accused the Board of casting aside its request for the renewal of its license.

“Our request for renewal was stowed away and NEBE issued a new law allowing it to do whatever it wants without Tigray’s say. This decision was immediately rejected by the TPLF and the Ethiopian government was asked to resolve the issue politically,” reads the statement.

The party also rejects the Board’s record of its legal date of registration on August 9, 2024.

“The central committee of the TPLF has discussed this issue in depth and confirmed that it is always ready to respect the decisions, laws and procedures that go hand in hand with what has been agreed upon in the Pretoria Agreement. The party is working hard to resolve the differences through political dialogue and to continue the negotiations. However, it will not accept other decisions and orders that defile the struggle and sacrifice of the people of Tigray,” reads the statement. “TPLF is always ready to conduct bilateral discussions. However, NEBE’s unilateral decision that degrades the struggle and sacrifices of the people of TIgray will never be acceptable.”