In May 2019 The Reporter looked at Birtukan Mideksa’s early months as chair of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia while politicians argued over when the next national election should be held.
Birtukan, a former judge and opposition figure who had been imprisoned under the previous order, was cast as a reform appointment meant to rebuild trust in the ballot. The piece framed her task as determined work under uncertain rules, with parties already fighting over calendars and logistics.
Election timing fights in 2019 sat inside a wider transition: new parties, ethnic federal tension, and security crises that later made voting itself a battlefield.
As governance archive, the profile dates the public image of NEBE under Birtukan before later postponements and disputes over whether Abiy Ahmed’s government would allow a credible national vote.
Sources: The Reporter Ethiopia