NEBE holds 7th General Election free airtime lottery for political parties
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), on March 28, 2026, held the 7th General Election free-airtime lottery for political parties. NEBE Chairperson Melatwork Hailu, in her opening remarks, said the Board has been preparing the free-airtime allocation for weeks in collaboration with the Ethiopian Media Authority. She added that the aim of the allocation is to provide political parties a platform to promote their programmes and policies, to give independent candidates an opportunity to present alternative ideas and campaign, and to allow voters to become familiar with the candidates. Melatwork stressed that political parties and independent candidates must use the free airtime responsibly.
Haymanot Zeleke, Director of the Ethiopian Media Authority, said the free airtime was allocated across 50 broadcasts in compliance with the law and in a manner that ensures a free, impartial, and fair election. She explained that the allocation is distributed across both public and commercial media: 24 radio stations, 20 television stations, and six newspapers. Including subsidiary channels and broadcasts in different languages, the total number rises to 66.
Following the opening remarks, Tesfaye Niway, deputy chairperson of NEBE, provided a detailed explanation of "Free Airtime Allocation for Political Parties and Independent Candidates." Belay Kitaw, head of the Media Technology Monitoring Desk at the Media Authority, then presented a briefing on the digitally developed system for allocating the free airtime.
Among the various pre-election activities NEBE conducts, NEBE, together with the Ethiopian Media Authority, implements the “Media Usage” framework for political parties under the following legal mandates: the Ethiopian Electoral, Political Parties Registration and Elections Code of Conduct Proclamation No. 1162/2019 (Art. 44(3)), the Proclamation to Establish the National Electoral Board No. 1133/2019 (Art. 7), and the Ethiopian Media Authority Establishment Proclamation No. 1238/2021 (Art. 71(4)–(5)).
