Ethiopia: TPLF party's final victory in Tigray poll deemed "illegal"

A supporter of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) wears a t-shirt bearing the image of its president Debretsion Gebremichael, September 9, 2020. EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

The electoral commission of the Tigray region announced this Friday, September 11 the results of the legislative election contested by the federal power which was held on Wednesday.

It is a tidal wave for the party in power, the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the TPLF, which thus consolidates its position, while the poll is not recognized by the central government.

Publicity

Read more

98.2% of the vote for the TPLF, with a participation of 97% of registered voters: it was therefore unanimity that prevailed on Wednesday in the Ethiopian region of Tigray, despite warnings from the federal government of Addis Ababa .

The election is described by an independent observer as a vote for security and self-determination, which only the TPLF can deliver at this point, he said.

No incidents or complaints were reported during the vote or count.

Pretext to stay in power

The TPLF thus obtains 152 of the 190 seats of deputies of the regional parliament.

The other four parties that took part in the election will share the remaining 38 seats, under a decision by the Tigray National Regional Council dated last month.

That said, even if nothing came to prevent it, as some feared, the Ethiopian government does not recognize the validity of this ballot.

Officially, legislative elections have been postponed across the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But for the TPLF, breaking with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed after being ousted from power in 2018, this is a pretext for the latter to stay in power beyond the end of his mandate.

►

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

• Ethiopia

On the same subject

Ethiopia: contested election in Tigray regional state passed without incident

Ethiopia: tension mounts between Addis Ababa and the Tigray region

Ethiopia: standoff between government and Tigray state over elections