NEBE Well Prepared for Upcoming General Election: House Speaker

Addis Ababa October 9/2020 (ENA) The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has made the necessary preparations for the 6th general election to be held this Ethiopian year, House of People's Representatives Speaker Tagesse Chaffo said.

Members of the House of People's Representatives visited today the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) warehouse where election materials for the upcoming election are stored.

After the visit, Tagesse said aim of the visit was to look at the preparations underway for the election to be held in Ethiopia.

“We have observed that the necessary materials have been prepared to make the election credible, democratic, and transparent. We believe that we can hold the general election," he stated.

According to him, the materials meet the standards when compared to those utilized in the past elections.  

The speaker said the remaining activities should also be effectively carried out by for instance  providing training for people who participate in voters registration and manage the vote casting process.

He further called on the Ethiopian people and political parties to play active role in ensuring that the upcoming election is free, fair and credible.

NEBE Communication Advisor, Soliana Shemelis said preparations are still underway to hold a successful election.

Over 90 percent of the materials required for the election are ready, she stated, adding that the remaining activities will be carried out by keeping the momentum and using the materials needed for the election modern and up to international standard.

The board has prepared ballot boxes and voter registration forms in five languages as well as  close to 51,000 polling stations, the advisor stated.

It is to be recalled that after engaging in election operation and preparation activities, Ethiopia had postponed the periodic general election slated for last August 2020 due to outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently, the House approved the recommendations of Ministry of Health to conduct the general election under stringent precautionary measures of the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.