The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) held a consultation with civil society organizations engaged in voter education. Deputy chairperson of the Board, Wubshet Ayele, members of the Board leadership, Abera Degefa (Dr.) and Bizuwerk Ketete, and Melatwork Hailu, CEO of the Board, were present at the consultation. The consultation was opened by a speech from the deputy chairperson who thanked the CSOs for their significant role in the success of the General Election.

It is known that the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) conducted the 6th General Election on June 21, 2021. However, there were some constituencies where polling was not conducted on the date specified above due to major irregularities related to Voter Registration (VR), the time needed to clarify complaints on Voter Registration, and issues related to security.

The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) held a discussion on August 19, 2021 with political parties who are running in the constituencies where it was not held on June 21. With the presence of all of the Board management, Birtukan Midekssa, the Chairperson of the Board presented NEBE’s activity report since the last electoral cycle.

The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), in collaboration with the Ethiopian Media Authority, allocated free airtime to the competing political parties and independent candidates who will run in the September 30 Election.

The airtime allocation is provided based on the directive to 22 political parties and 106 independent candidates who are running for seats in Somali, Harari, and SNNP Regions, and this is conducted through three radio channels, four television stations, and four newspapers.

The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) presented investigation reports conducted by a team of experts on voter registration in the Somali Region to political parties on August 17, 2021. The consultation was attended by all board members, and it was opened by the Chairperson of the Board, Birtukan Midekssa.

The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) is finalizing its preparations for the voter registration of the election to be held on September 30, 2021. Related to this, it has provided trainings on two consecutive days to poll workers in Harari Region on August 28 and 29, 2021 and in Somali and SNNP Regions on August 29 and 30, 2021.

The forum was attended by all five Board management, the Chief Executive of the Board and all the representatives of the departments of the Board, and the Chairperson of the board, Birtukan Midekssa, opened the meeting. In her speech, the chairperson highlighted the contribution of the CSOs and thanked them. She further explained the significance of CSOs by indicating that the preliminary statement made, and the upcoming statements to be made by the organizations have big impacts on the improvement of the election process.

The National Election Board of Ethiopia consulted with political parties who had participated in the 6th General Election and complained about the voting process. The consultation, which was attended by the chairman of the Board, Birtukan Mideksa, and the vice chairman of the board, Woubshet Ayele, intended to address the grievances of the parties and to enable them to share their constructive ideas that will help them find a quicker and better solution with respect to the time the Board has. This was stated by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board in their speech.