2021 Ethiopian general election

General elections were supposed to be held in Ethiopia on 29 August 2020 to elect officials to the House of Peoples' Representatives,[1] but were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Regional and municipal council elections were also planned to be held at the same time around the country.[3] In May the sitting House of Representatives voted to postpone the election until 2021.[4] In late December 2020, the National Election Board of Ethiopia stated that it would take place on 5 June 2021.[5]

2021 Ethiopian general election

5 June 2021
All 547 seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives 274 seats needed for a majority
Leader Abiy Ahmed Berhanu Nega Merera Gudina Party Prosperity Party Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice Medrek Last election 512 seats New party 0 seats Current seats 512 New party 0 seats Seats needed 274 274   Leader Dawud Ibsa Ayana Mohammed Omar Osman Belete Molla Party Oromo Liberation Front Ogaden National Liberation Front National Movement of Amhara Last election New party New party New party Current seats New party New party New party Seats needed 274 274 274
Incumbent Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Prosperity Party

The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, along with three out of the four member parties of the political coalition which had dominated Ethiopian politics since the overthrow of the Derg regime in 1991, namely Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) and Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM), was dissolved on 1 December 2019. Most of its member parties were merged into the Prosperity Party, which inherited the EPRDF's role as the governing party. The last leader of the EPRDF, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, became the first leader of the new party.

Tigray conflict

The Tigray People's Liberation Front, a powerful entity within the EPRDF, was the only constituent party that did not merge into the new Prosperity Party. In September 2020, Tigray Region held parliamentary elections that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government deemed illegal.[6]

Attacks on 4 November 2020 by Tigray regional security forces on the headquarters of the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) belonging to the Government of Ethiopia led to the armed Tigray conflict between the Government and the TPLF.[7][8] In late November and in December, the Tigray Region government was replaced by the Transitional Government of Tigray.[9] TPLF was then dissolved by the National Election Board of Ethiopia [10]

References

1. Ethiopia sets tentative August date for elections Reuters, 15 January 2020
2. "NEBE Says Impossible To Hold Election As Per Scheduled Due To COVID-19". fanabc.com. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
3. "African election calendar 2020". Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa. 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
4. "የህገ መንግስቱ ሶስት አንቀጾች ትርጓሜ እንዲሰጥባቸው በፓርላማ ተወሰነ". National Election Board of Ethiopia. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020. (in Amharic)
5. "Ethiopian electoral board sets June 5 for national polls - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
6. https://www.france24.com/en/20200909-ethiopia-s-tigray-region-defies-pm-abiy-with-illegal-election-1
7. "The midnight confrontation that helped unleash Ethiopia's conflict". France 24. 2020-11-27. Archived from the original on 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
8. "Ethiopia's Tigray crisis: How a soldier survived an 11-hour gun battle". BBC News. 2020-12-10. Archived from the original on 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
9. "Tigray Interim Administration, Residents of Mekelle City Conducting Discussion". Ethiopian News Agency. 2020-12-25. Archived from the original on 2020-12-26. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
10. "Ethiopia Pulls Tigray Party License Ahead of June Elections". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 20 January 2021..