Answer: The National Electoral Board had a series of meetings with political parties before the timetable was announced. After the consultations, two main issues that could pose challenges were identified. The first one was the challenge the parties are facing that prevents them from moving freely in regions, and second was the security situation in different parts of the country. Based on this assessment, the Board undertook two major tasks to go around the loopholes. One of them is the preparation of an election security plan by the government.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) held a consultative meeting with political parties on June 9, 2021. This is one of the frequent consultation forums with political parties, in which the Board reported on the challenges it is facing in printing ballot papers.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) held a consultation with CSOs involved in voter education. The meeting was opened by a Board Member Abera Degefa (Ph.D.) where he stated that the Board has accredited 167 CSOs to teach voter education and that the number of registered voters improved as a result of the voter education provided by these accredited CSOs; and expressed his deep respect for them.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), in collaboration with the Media Authority, allocated additional airtime for election campaigns following the June 21, 2021 polling day. Accordingly, political parties can conduct their election campaigns until June 16, 2021. June 17 to June 20 will be a silent period without any campaigns of political parties. The media airtime allocation will also be until June 16.
