Ethiopia will hold its Parliamentary election in June 2021, its National Electoral Board has said.
Recall that the election was postponed in August as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The East African giant runs a federal system of government with 10 powerful regions who have rights to set their taxes, pass their laws, and own security forces.
The Chairman of the party that wins the highest number of seats will automatically become the Prime Minister.
In an election that will see the Tigray People’s Liberation Front challenge Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party, Ethiopians have had to deal with politics-mediated violence from the PP and the TPLF.
The TPLF, led by Debretsion Gebremichael is going toe to toe against the ruling party, after a coalition eased the party out of power in 2018.
The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, previously led by Ahmed got into a coalition with most of its member parties to form the Prosperity Party.
Their strength helped them secure 512 seats in the Ethiopian Parliament with the TPLF getting just 35 seats.
Other parties in the 2021 election are; Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice, Oromo People’s Congress, Oromo Liberation Front and the Ogaden National Liberation Front.
The TPLF ruled Ethiopia for 27 years in what was largely dubbed an autocratic government before a coalition of parties sent them out of office.
Prime Minister Ahmed has faced criticisms in the past for his handling of violence in the country, with the most recent being the killing of 100 people at Benishangul-Gumuz and the conflict in Tigray. The Tigray crisis led to the death of thousands and the displacement of almost one million Ethiopians.
