Photo: NEBEAddis Abeba – National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) said it has declined a request from four individuals asking the Board for registration certificate of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) as a regional political party based in the Tigray regional state. In a letter signed by Birtukan Mideksa, Chairwoman of NEBE, the Board said that an individual by the name Gebre Michael Tesfay and three other unnamed individuals requested the Board to be granted the name TPLF as regional party. The request was submitted along with a list of “120 founding members” in a letter to the Board on 29 May 2023. Based on article 86/1 of the proclamation, which stipulates “the designation of any political party shall not be similar to or create confusion with the designation of another political party and shall be the sole designation of the party”, the Board said it found the request to be invalid. The decision followed TPLF’s request to the Board to reverse its January 2021 decision cancelling the party on the grounds it was engaged in armed struggle.

Source: Ethiopian News June 13, 2023 13:02 UTC