The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) passed the following decisions concerning the General Assemblies they held
On Mocha Democratic Party (MDP)
Decision made on July 22, 2022
The party presented a report on a letter written on March 24, 2022 no. MD82/2014 about the General Assembly it held on March 12, 2022.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) made an inquiry on July 22, 2022 concerning the report made by the party and the attached documents vis-à-vis the Law, the bylaw of the party, and the report from NEBE’s observers.
I. Matters to which the relevant articles of the proclamation are applicable:
a) On the bylaw of the party, under article 17(1), it is stated that “the General Assembly has 200 representatives” while under article 62(3), it is stated that the quorum should be 101. Since this contradicts article 74(1)(e), the necessary adjustments should be made and presented at the next general assembly meeting where the relevant articles of the proclamation shall apply
b) Under article 17(3) of the bylaw, it is stated that the General Assembly can be postponed for three months, but this contradicts article 74(1)(h) of the proclamation no. 1162/2019, the necessary adjustments should be made and presented at the next general assembly meeting where the relevant articles of the proclamation shall apply.
II. Amendments to the regulations that must be approved by the next general assembly of the party
a) Under article 18(1) of the bylaw, the number of voting members of the General Assembly is decided by the Executive Council where it specified be at least 402. This should not be applicable and that the necessary adjustments should be made and presented at the next general assembly
b) Under article 19(4) of the regulation, it is stated that “it organizes, folds, or revises structures”. Since the structures are not well stated making the implementation complicated, this should be amended for the next General Assembly.
c) Article 31 (13) states that "If it believes that a member has not performed his/her duties properly", it is not clearly defined which part of the party it is, so it should not be enforced, and in the next General Assembly meeting, the necessary adjustments should be made and presented.
d) Article 74(3) of the 1162/2019 proclamation states that the by-law of every political party shall stipulate that the election of its leadership and other officials at all levels must be conducted in a transparent, free and fair manner, where secrecy of the ballot is protected. Since article no. 62(3) needs to include the phrase “voting should be made with secrecy”, the implementation of this article should be on hold, and it should be amended accordingly.
e) Articles 21(6) and 45(2) which state the procedures used for the party members to be nominated for local and national elections at every level contradict. So, the implementation of these articles should be on hold, and they should be amended accordingly.
f) Under the obligation of members of the party 5(2)(the last two sub-paragraphs of K or N), and according to 6(4) of the member's failure to fulfill their obligations, the termination of membership seriously affects the rights of the members, so it should not be enforced and should be removed from the bylaws.
g) How to resolve disputes is not included In the bylaw, and it should be included in the next General Assembly.
III. What should be presented (i.e. until August 1, 2022)
Under article 21 of the regulation, what is stated as “Duties and Responsibilities of the Executive” should be corrected as “Duties and Responsibilities Executive Committee”, and the Board decided that various similar mistakes and the language used should be corrected.
Therefore, as stated above, the party should realize that the clauses of the regulation that are contrary to Proclamation no. 1162/2019 will not be implemented. In addition, the Board notifies that regarding the correction of the language in the articles, the party should correct them and submit until August 1, 2022. We respectfully state that the Board has recorded the general meeting and the resolutions passed by the party.
On Argoba Democratic Movement (ADM)
Decision made on July 22, 2022
The party presented a report on a letter written on March 24, 2022 no. ADM -2/085/014 about the General Assembly it held on March 17, 2022.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) made an inquiry on July 22, 2022 concerning the report made by the party and the attached documents vis-à-vis the Law, the bylaw of the party, and the report from NEBE’s observers.
Concerning the bylaw of the party
a) The amended bylaws contain only the amended provisions and are not convenient and consistent for operation, and the amended provisions are not included with the unamended provisions;
b) The request for unification presented under article 1(3), it has been observed that the approach to be reviewed by the Executive Committee is against Article 91 (3)(a) of the proclamation.
Therefore:
1) Article 1(3) of the amended bye-laws is inconsistent with section 91(3)(a) of the Act, so that provision of the bye-laws shall not apply;
2) The board decided in accordance with the proclamation that the amended provisions of the bylaws together with the unamended provisions to submit the entire amended bylaws within seven days until August 1, 2022, and when this is done, the General Assembly held by the party and the resolutions passed by it should be recorded.
On Ethiopian People Revolutionary Party (EPRP)
Decision made on July 22, 2022
The party presented a report on a letter written on April 27, 2022 no. EPRP/00/2014 about the General Assembly it held on April 9 and 10, 2022.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) made an inquiry on July 22, 2022 concerning the report made by the party and the attached documents vis-à-vis the Law, the bylaw of the party, and the report from NEBE’s observers.
Concerning the bylaw of the party
The Board observed that
a) Article 27(3)(g) states that the Central Committee makes a decision to form a front with other parties, which is contrary to Article 91(3)(a), 93(2)(a) of the proclamation.
b) The office term of the executive committee is not specified;
c) The type and distribution of membership contributions are not specified in accordance with Article 74(1)(d) of the Proclamation;
d) In the amended by-laws page 24) that the provision following article 34 (8) is omitted.
Therefore, the Board decided the following according to the proclamation
1. Article 27(3)(g) of the amended bye-laws is inconsistent with articles 91(3)(a) and 93(2)(a) of the proclamation. So, the provisions of this regulation shall not be enforced.
2. In the next General Assembly, the term of office of the executive committee should be clearly defined and revised in the bylaws.
3. In the next general assembly, the type and distribution of membership fees should be included in the bylaws
The remaining articles from page 24 of the bylaw should be included and submitted until July 28, 2022, and when this is implemented, the General Assembly held by the party and the resolutions passed by it should be recorded.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia
July 28, 2022