2020 Tigray regional election

On 9 September 2020, the Ethiopian region of Tigray held an election for its state council. The election was considered illegal by the federal government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who postponed the 2020 general election earlier in the year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] According to the election organisers, the Tigray People's Liberation Front won 98.2% of the vote and 100% of the 152 seats that were contested.[2]

2020 Tigray regional election
9 September 2020 (2020-09-09)
152 of the 190 seats in the Council of Tigray Regional State' Representatives
96 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party
 
Leader Debretsion Gebremichael
Party TPLF
Leader since 2018
Last election N/A
Seats before 152
Seats won 152
Seats after 152
Seat change 0
Popular vote 2,590,620
Percentage 98.2%
Chief Administrator before election

Debretsion Gebremichael
TPLF

 Chief Administrator-designate

Debretsion Gebremichael
(disputed)
TPLF

Electoral environment

France 24 reported aging war veterans and university students formed long lines to partake in the elections.

600 candidates from five parties competed for 152 seats in the 190 seat legislature. The distribution of the remaining 38 seats will be determined at a later date by participating parties.

The campaign featured televised debates among leaders of different parties. Opposition parties stated that while they had good access to regional media, they also faced some threats and intimidations.[3][4]

Boycott

Arena Tigray boycotted the election on the grounds of "political provocations by the TPLF", the COVID-19 pandemic and what it saw as the illegitimacy of the election.[5] The Tigray Democratic Party also stated that it would boycott the election.[6]

Results
Party[7] Votes % Seats +/–
Tigray People's Liberation Front2,590,620 98.20 152[2] or 190[8] 0
National Congress of Great Tigray20,839 0.8038[2] or 0[8] +38
Tigray Independence Party18,479 0.71
Salsay Weyane Tigray7,136 0.28
Assimba Democratic Party 7740.01
Invalid/blank votes ––
Total2,633,848100190+38
Registered voters/turnout97.0––
Source: BBC News[2]

On 11 September 2020 the Amharic language service of the BBC reported that, of the 190 members of the state council, 152 were controlled by the TPLF and 38 were to be distributed to rival parties.

However, in local reports in September 2020, the Tigray Region state council allocated 16 seats to the four opposition parties.[8]

Party Seats +/–
National Congress of Great Tigray 8 +8
Tigray Independence Party 5 +5
Salsay Weyane Tigray 2 +2
Assimba Democratic Party 1 +1
Total16+16
Source: Addis Fortune[8]

References
  1. "Ethiopia's Tigray region defies PM Abiy with 'illegal' election". France 24. 9 September 2020.
  2. "የትግረይ ምርጫ፡ በትግራይ ክልላዊ ምርጫ ህወሓት ማሸነፉ ተገለፀ". BBC News (in Amharic). 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-11-22. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  3. "Ethiopia's Tigray region defies PM Abiy with 'illegal' election". France 24. 2020-09-09. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  4. "Why there are fears that Ethiopia could break up". BBC News. 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  5. "Arena shies away from Tigray Regional election". Addis Fortune. 2020-08-01. Archived from the original on 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  6. "News: Tigray state council approves appointment of regional electoral commission officials". Addis Standard. 2020-07-16. Archived from the original on 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  7. "Ethiopia's Tigray region holds vote, defying Abiy's federal gov't". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  8. "Debretsion faces rough road ahead as Tigray State President". Addis Fortune. 2020-09-24. Archived from the original on 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2020-12-16.


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