The June 21 poll was seen as a key test for democratic reforms under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Ethiopia’s polling agency stated that it will now be held in two postponed national elections, which will be held on June 21, to introduce a new set of democratic reforms under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The countdown starts a new countdown.

The second most populous country in Africa should first hold a poll in August last year, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials postponed it to June 5 this year.

Then, last weekend, the chairman of the election committee, Birtukan Mideksa, announced that a new delay was needed due to logistical issues related to tasks such as training electors, printing and distributing ballots.

After meeting with the Abi government, opposition parties and regional officials, the Election Commission spokesperson Solyana Shimeles announced the new date of June 21 at a press conference.

Solyana said that she does not expect any further delays because the upcoming rainy season will start in June and may cause serious damage to infrastructure.

“We are working [hold] she says.

Staff shortage

Even with the delay, the logistics challenges will be daunting. Solyana estimated on Thursday that the board will need to hire more than 100,000 more employees and train them on voting day procedures and tabulation results.

She said that so far, the shortage of employees has been particularly pronounced in Afar and Somalia, where registration work started late.

After years of anti-government protests, Abiy came to power in 2018 and promised to partly break the Ethiopian dictatorship by holding the most democratic election in the country’s history.

His reform agenda won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, but his tenure has been compromised by security challenges, the most notable of which is the six-month war in the northern Tigri region, which will not participate in June Opinion poll on the 21st.

As of last weekend, about 36 million Ethiopians have registered to vote, despite the Racial violence, Including the most populous areas of the country, Oromia and Amhara.

Constituency affected by conflict

Solyana said it would be “very difficult” to include these conflict-hit constituencies on June 21.

But she said she hopes voters in these areas will be able to vote before a new parliamentary meeting is held in early October.

The election will select national and regional parliamentarians. The election of the prime minister, head of government and president by members of the national parliament is largely ceremonial.

Abbey’s previous ruling coalition claimed a staggering majority in the first two elections. Observers say this is far from reaching international fairness standards.

In a more public game in 2005, the opposition gained a lot, but it led to a fatal suppression of protests with controversial results.

This year, some opposition parties, especially in Abi’s hometown of Oromia, chose to boycott, complaining that their candidates were arrested and their offices were destroyed.