Attorney General Ready to Prosecute Voting-related Crimes, Breach of Law

Addis Ababa February 19/2021 (ENA) The Attorney General said it has finalized preparations to prosecute voting-related crimes and breach of law in the upcoming 2021 General Election.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Habtamu Haile, Organized and Trans-boundary Affairs Attorney, said legal actions will be taken immediately to resolve election-related crimes after investigation are carried out in accordance with the powers assigned to the Federal Attorney General.

According to him, the Federal Attorney General Office will investigate election-related disputes attentively and prosecute them with the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE).

"We are ready to contribute to the monitoring of election related criminal investigations as we have a system in place to enforce it primarily through the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia."

At the same time, the Attorney General has the mandate to uphold the rule of law, especially in voting-related offenses, he added.

Electoral violence, which is experienced in even many democratic countries during various phases of the election, is prosecuted as crime against humanity.

Such crimes, including participation in widespread or systematic attack on civilian population, disturbing voting process or counting of votes as well as forceful control of polling stations, or trying to get votes illegally could also occur here during the election, the attorney stated.

"Various crimes can be committed during an election period. For example, voters can be persuaded to relinquish their rights and falsified ballot papers might be used to influence the election. Aggravated acts of violence and criminal activities may occur as well,” Habtamu elaborated.

Deliberate use of physical harm and coercive intimidation for a political purpose would happen during electoral contesting or the during announcing electoral result, he revealed. 

Habtamu pointed out that these and other expected challenges are considered in the process of the upcoming 6th General Election and the offenses are included in the Criminal Code and the Election Proclamation 1163 that governs the election.

As a directorate of organized and trans-boundary affairs, the department is primarily concerned with prosecuting crimes in accordance with the provisions of the Penalty Code, it has made special arrangements to monitor the process of voting before, during or after the election and prosecute crimes, the attorney explained.

Habtamu explained that "the partnership with federal and regional police, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia and others will ease our effort to investigate such serious crimes in connection with the election and be able to prosecute the criminals in a short period."

He added the series of training have been provided for prosecutors who work under different offices of the Attorney General on what electoral fraud is and what to expect from investigators. 

Courts have also set up special hearing platforms for only election-related affairs to respond immediately, the attorney revealed, adding that “we have formed a team that uses the hearing system.”

Ethiopia is set to hold its 6th General Election, which is expected to transit the country to genuine democracy, in June, 2021.