National Election Board of Ethiopia

The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ምርጫ ቦርድ, romanizedYe-Ītyōṗṗyā Biḥērawī Mirich’a Borid) is an autonomous federal government agency which supervises the national elections of Ethiopia. The NEBE was established by Proclamation number 64/1992, and answers to the House of Peoples' Representatives.[1] Melatework Hailu has been the current chairperson of NEBE since 19 December 2023.[2]

National Election Board of Ethiopia
የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ምርጫ ቦርድ
Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā Biḥērawī Mirich’a Borid
Agency overview
Formed1991
JurisdictionEthiopian government
HeadquartersAirport Road, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
9°00′30″N 38°45′52″E / 9.008414°N 38.764329°E / 9.008414; 38.764329
Agency executives
Websitenebe.org.et/en

History

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NEBE was established in 1991 subsequently appointing Kemal Bedri as its founding chairman. The agency would preside over the 1992 local elections as well as the 1994 Ethiopian Constituent Assembly election.[3]

The election board was however made official by Article 102 of the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia.

Article 102
Election Board

1. There shall be established a National Election Board independent of any influence, to conduct in an impartial manner free and fair election in Federal and State constituencies.

2. Members of the Board shall be appointed by the House of Peoples' Representatives upon recommendation of the Prime Minister. Particulars shall be determined by law.[4]

Structure

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The NEBE consists of two components: the Board and the Secretariat. According to Article 6 of the amended Proclamation number 532/2006, the Board of the NEBE consists of nine members who are nominated by the prime minister and appointed by the House of Peoples' Representatives.[5] These members are selected based on national diversity, and gender representation.[1] The Secretariat is the operational branch of NEBE. The Secretariat is headed by a Chief Executive, and has the responsibility for the preparation and conduct of the electoral process.[6]

Reforms

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In November 2018, during the prime ministership of Abiy Ahmed that started in April 2018 promising major reforms, the judge Birtukan Mideksa was appointed as the head of NEBE replacing incumbent Samia Gutu.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "About NEBE". National Election Board of Ethiopia.
  2. ^ Standard2, Addis (19 December 2023). "News: Melatework Hailu voted in as the new chairperson of National Election Board". Addis Standard. Retrieved 19 December 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Verdier, Isabelle. Ethiopia The Top 100 People. Indigo Publications. p. 83.
  4. ^ "Constitution of The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia" (PDF). Embassy of Ethiopia, Brussels, Belgium. 1995. p. 37.
  5. ^ "Home | National Election Board of Ethiopia - NEBE Ethiopia". nebe.org.et. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Establishment and Structure of NEBE". NEBE. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ Anberbir, Yohannes (24 November 2018). "Chairwoman steps up". The Reporter (Ethiopia). Archived from the original on 19 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
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