House Committee Proposes Tigray Regional Election to be Declared Null and Void

Addis Abeba  September  5/20202 (ENA)Standing Committee of the House of Federation (HoF) proposed to the HoF today to reject the planned election in Tigray Regional State and declare it null and void as the act endangers the constitution. 

The extraordinary meeting of the House of Federation is underway here in the capital city.

Secretary of the Constitutional Inquiry and Identity Affairs Standing Committee of the House, Worku Adamu said the Ethiopian constitution is a sacred document for the nations, nationalities and peoples of the country.

And in this constitution the issuing power of election law in accordance with the constitution is given to the executing elections to the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), he explained.

According to him, there is no single article in the constitution that gives power to regional states with respect to  election.

The mandate is clearly given to the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE).

In spite of this, the Tigray Region State has rejected the decision passed by the House of Federation to postpone the election due to the unforeseen occurrence of COVI-19 epidemic, Worku stated.

Even if the House of Federation informed the region that it does not have a mandate to hold election, the secretary revealed that the region issued election law and established an election commission to conduct the election by defying the constitution.

With respect to the illegal election that violates the constitution, regional opposition political parties like Wolkayit Amhara Identity Restoration Committee, Raya Rayuma Democratic Party, Tigray Democratic Party have requested the House to stop the election.       

The secretary recalled that the House of Federation had passed decision that the  status quo remain as it was until election is carried out when the threat of the virus abated.

He also asked the House to consider the appeal of the regional political parties and requested it to declare once for all the planned election illegal, null and void.