Irish Extend Hand to Support Election

Jul 6 , 2019

The government of Ireland has signed a 700,000 euro financing agreement with UNDP to provide support for Ethiopia’s upcoming election. The agreement was signed between the Ambassador of Ireland, Sonja Hyland, and UNDP Ethiopia Resident Representative, Turhan Saleh, on July 4, 2019. The funding will be channelled through the UN’s Supporting Elections for Ethiopia’s Democracy Strengthening Project. “The Government of Ireland initiated this partnership as this is an extremely crucial time in Ethiopia’s transition to democracy,” said Sonja. “National Electoral Board of Ethiopia has an important job over the next year to make Ethiopia ready for a free and fair democratic election.” In June of this year, UNDP also signed a 40-million-dollar grant agreement with the Board in support of the country’s upcoming election. Out of the total amount, 34.6 million dollars was funded by eleven international development partners, and UNDP will fund two million dollars.