This after some opposition parties said they would not take part and as a conflict in the country’s Tigray region means no vote is being held there. Birtukan Mideksa, chairperson of The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), “indicated that delays in opening polling stations and voter registration have pushed the voting day”. Mideksa cited a plethora of logistical delays, such as finalising voter registration, training electoral staff, printing and distributing ballot papers. The vote was originally planned for August last year but was postponed for the first time because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which was ruling the northern region at the time, had resisted the postponement and held its regional elections in September. This was a factor that led to the conflict between the TPLF and the central government in Addis Ababa, which has been ongoing since early November.

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