Civil Society group banned from observing Tigray election
Seb-Hidri Civil Society of Tigray, a youth-led grassroots civil society founded two years ago, has been excluded from observing elections in the Tigray region, it was reported.
The civil society group, that had been a foremost advocate of the regional election, was banned from taking part in the planned election observation mission due to complaints and accusations filed by the ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), BBC Tigrigna reported.
Dr. Goytom Aregawi, director of SebHidri Civil Society told BBC Tigrigna that the region’s electoral commission’s decision to ban the Society from observing voting based on unfounded and unsubstantiated charges of one party, without trying to consider its view was a huge disappointment.
“We were told by the Commission that the ruling party accused us of engaging in illegal activities and the Commission took its decision based on that. They did not give us any other details,” he said. The civil society has played an important role in amending the electoral law of the region, among others, he said.
Meressa Tsehaye, a member of the Commission defended the decision saying that proof documents about the Civil Society’s illegal activities have been handed down by TPLF.
The civil society group works to promote justice, good governance, rule of law but the ruling party has been suspicious of its intention, Goitom said.
https://www.ethiopiaobserver.com/2020/0 ... -election/
