Election Board Cancels 27 Political Parties
June 10, 2020
The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia had made a call for political parties that were registered under the previous parties’ licensing regulation to register again under the new law until March 12, 2020. In light of this, the board had written a note to 106 parties that had been certified previously to prove that they meet the requirements of the new law. Accordingly, 76 of the 106 previously certified political parties had submitted the necessary documents and board is checking whether they fulfill requirements of the new law.
In the investigation, the following are done:
• Ensure that parties meet all requirements listed in the communiqué (providing General Assembly documents, founding members’ signatures, etc.)
• Drawing a sample from the founding members list and verify by sending the samples to the place where they were signed to crosscheck the signatories do reside in the locality,
• To ensure that amendments bylaws are included, and general assembly documents are properly filed.
Once the checking is completed, the Board will announce how many of the 76 parties do fulfill requirements of the new law. However, 15 parties requested the Board for time extension to present their evidences. Among these, 13 did not provide present enough ground to be granted the extension, and hence the Board has decided to revoke their license.
The following is a list of parties that have been canceled
- Ethiopian Democratic Unity Movement (EDUM) - did not provide a list of founding members and did not hold a general assembly
- The Geda Regime Party (GESPA) - did not provide founding members’ list
- Yem National Democratic Movement (YNDM) - did not provide a list of founding members and did not hold a general assembly
- DentaDubamo Kitchenla People's Democratic Organization – did not provide founding members list and did not hold general assembly
- Ethiopian National Unity Congress (Congress) - does not provide a list of founding members
- Tigri Worji Nationality Democratic Organization (TWNDO) – does not hold a general assembly
- All Amhara People's Organization (AAPO) - does not provide founding members list and does not hold general assembly
- Ethiopian Unity Democratic Organization (EUDO) – does not hold a general assembly
- All Amhara People's Party (AAPP) - does not provide a list of founding members
- Ethiopian National Movement (ENM) - does not provide a list of founding members
- Southern Ethiopian Democratic Congress (South Congress) - does not provide a list of founding members
- Sheko and Locality People's Democratic Organization (SLPDO) - does not hold a general assembly
- Freedom and Peace for Ethiopian Union Party (Freedom and Peace) - does not provide a list of founding members.
On the other hand, 14 other parties did not submit their documents in response to the call from the board, and some have said they had merged with other parties. As a result, the Board decided to cancel the following 14 parties for non-compliance.
- Ethiopian Vision Party
- All Ethiopian Democratic Party
- Kambata People's Congress
- Hadiya Nation Democratic Organization
- Oromo People's Democratic Union
- Dilwebi People's Democratic Movement
- Bench People's Democratic Organization
- The Silte People's Democratic Party
- Afar People's Liberation Party
- Somali Unity Party
- Freedom for Unity and Justice Party
- National Reconstruction for Peace and Development
- South Western Ethiopia People's Union
- Gambella Regional Movement
The Board accepted that the inability of two parties to submit complete documents was due to internal problems of the parties and it has decided that they should convene a general assembly when the national Covid-19 emergency is over. In the mean time, the partial documents they have presented are being assessed.
Among parties that were allowed to present documents under special considerations are :
1. 1. Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP)
2. 2. Welenai National Party (WNP)