Election Laws

1. National Electoral Board of Ethiopia Establishment Proclamation 1133/2019

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia is an institution established in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the new proclamation is cited as the “National Electoral Board of Ethiopia Establishment Proclamation No. 1133/2019”. This Proclamation has come into force on April 1, 2019 upon approval by the House of People’s Representatives amending the previous electoral law Proclamation No. 532/1999.

It became important to revise the law for the reason that, it has become important to establish an independent electoral implementation body in order to enable citizens to exercise their right to self-government through representatives that they elect by way of free, fair, and peaceful elections conducted at various levels. In addition to that, it has become necessary to improve the credibility and the implementing capacity of the National Electoral Board among competing political parties and the voting public, by making the selection and appointment of the members of the national electoral board participatory and transparent and ensuring the board’s independence in regards to its organizational structure, staff employment, deployment, and budget.

The Establishment Proclamation contains detailed sections on the powers and functions of the Board, the appointment of Board members, and the Code of Conduct.

Click on the link to find proclamation no 1133/2019. (NEBE Establishment Proclamation)

2. The Ethiopian Electoral, Political Parties Registration and Election’s Code of Conduct Proclamation 1162/2019

The law governing election registration and related conduct of political parties is called the "Ethiopian Electoral, Political Parties Registration and Electoral Code of Conduct No. 1162/2011". This law came into force on the 24th of August 2019 by repealing and consolidating into one comprehensive legal document three separate laws, namely the Electoral Law of Ethiopia Proclamation No. 532/2007, Political Parties Registration Proclamation No. 573/2008 and Electoral Code of Conduct for Political Parties Proclamation No. 662/2009.

The new election law came to be revised with the view to ensure the participation of every Ethiopian in an all-inclusive, fair, and peaceful elections held at every level on the basis of equal popular suffrage in which Ethiopians freely express their will in a secret ballot, to enable political parties with different views to participate by expressing their opinions to the electorate in a lawful and peaceful manner, to enable the people to elect their representatives based on informed decisions and free expression of their will, and to regulate the institutions and procedures for managing administrative and judicial disputes in during the electoral process. The law contains different parts that emphasize on principles of elections, political parties, election observers and voter educations, grievance and disputes arising in elections and elections code of conduct.

Click on the link to find proclamation no 1162/2019. ( The Ethiopian Electoral, Political Parties Registration and Election’s Code of Conduct Proclamation 1162/2019)

3. Main issues revised under Ethiopian Electoral, Political Parties Registration and Election’s Code of Conduct Proclamation No. 1162/2019

Ethiopian Electoral, Political Parties Registration and Election’s Code of Conduct Proclamation No. 1162/2019 has addressed different shortcomings of the previous election laws. For detailed information please click on this link “Main issues revised under Ethiopian Electoral, Political Parties Registration and Election’s Code of Conduct”. (Main issues revised under Ethiopian Electoral, Political Parties Registration and Election’s Code of Conduct)