Ombudsman, Attorney General Ready to Ensure Success of Upcoming Election

Addis Ababa, April 2/2021/ENA/  The Ombudsman and Attorney General offices have said that they are ready to play their roles in helping to ensure that the 6th General Election would be free, fair, and democratic.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, officials from Ethiopian Institution of the Ombudsman and the Attorney General said the 6^th upcoming general election will serve as an entry point for laying the foundation for political pluralism and stability in Ethiopia.

Chief Ombudsman, Endale Haile said his institution is exerting maximum effort to make the election inclusive and legitimate.

“As an institution of Ombudsman, we don’t need much logistics to monitor the process,” he said, adding that “we will be able to reach out the main polling stations and cities across the country as our institution is well prepared.”  

According to him, the country has missed many golden opportunities. Thus the upcoming general election is another opportunity which requires appropriate engagement of democratic institutions in order to  direct the country into democracy.

The Ethiopian Institution of the Ombudsman has direct and indirect mandates and responsibilities in the 6th General  Election, the Chief Ombudsman said, adding that it has been monitoring whether the public and the private media outlets are equally and fairly accessible to all parties. 

He noted that the Ombudsman has been also monitoring the implementation of the Code of Conduct of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) and proclamations related to elections.  

Attorney General Press Secretary Office Head,  Awol Sultan said the federal Attorney General has been contributing its share for the peaceful conduct of the entire electoral process without major security problems.

According to him, the Attorney General has established a system through which it could held perpetrators of offenses that undermine democracy accountable since its primary responsibility is to enforce electoral laws.

"We are working to make the election peaceful and ensure that the people of Ethiopia elect the party(ies) seize power. However, those who engage in illegal activities will face the consequences. The Attorney General will continue to play its role in upholding the rule of law as usual,” he underscored. 

Awol further revealed that courts have set up special hearing platforms that deal with election-related affairs.

“Crimes committed during election are not time consuming and should be dealt with promptly and the perpetrators brought to justice immediately. Therefore, the special hearing platforms provide opportunity for the Attorney General to prosecute the allegations as soon as possible,” the  head explained.

The Attorney General has 11 branch offices led by focal persons in all over the regional states.