Addis Ababa, August 2, 2021(Walta) – The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) held a consultation with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) on the preliminary statement issued regarding the National Election.
According to NEBE’s statement, opening the consultation NEBE Chairperson Birtukan Mideksa praised the contribution of the civil society organizations to the election.
She further explained the significance of CSOs by indicating that the preliminary statement made, and the upcoming statements to be made by the organizations have big impacts on the improvement of the election process.
The chairperson stressed that election by its nature needs improvements from time to time, and she emphasized that awareness-raising activities about elections should not be limited to only the election time.
The CSOs held a discussion in groups on their observation about the election, and they presented views.
The peacefulness of the election, the trust that stakeholders and political parties had in the Election Board, the awareness activities conducted by the Board, the inclusiveness measures accomplished, the training provided, and the updating of directives were mentioned as strong points.
However, the late arrival of badges of observers, the absence of sign language that should have been used during election debates, and the inability of the organizations to raise the amount of funds needed were underlined as drawbacks.
The forum was attended by all five Board management, the Chief Executive of the Board and all the representatives of the departments of the Board, and the Chairperson of the board, Birtukan Mideksa.