While five political parties including the ruling Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) registered for the upcoming regional election, Arena Tigray for Democracy & Sovereignty, the second oldest party in the Regional State, has excluded itself after mentioning concerns over constitutionality.

The newly established Office of Electoral Commission of the National Regional State of Tigrai had registered five political parties and 11 independent candidates who wanted to take part in the regional election that is set to be held in the first week of October. The Regional State proceeded with the registration despite the National Election Board of Ethiopia's (NEBE) statement denouncing the regional election as unconstitutional.

During the registration that took place between June 28 and 30, Assimba Democratic Party, National Congress of Great Tigray (aka Baytona), Salsay Woyane Tigray, Tigray Independence Party and TPLF all registered. However, Arena, one of the prominent opposition parties in the Regional State announced that it would not participate in the election after agreeing with NEBE's conclusion.

In its statement released last week, Arena stated that it does not believe there is a conducive environment to hold elections in the Regional State due to political provocations by the TPLF, the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the illegitimacy of regional elections.

The Commission held the registration before availing the schedule and the budget of the election, since it planned to hold a dialogue with participants that wish to take part in the election on the issues, according to Meressa Tsehaye, a member of the Commission.

“We'll have a dialogue with political parties and independent candidates before we present the final budget to the State Council of Tigray," said Meressa, adding that the elections will be held before October 5, 2020.

In response to the Regional State's commitment to hold the regional election, Adan Farah, the speaker of the House of Federation (HoF), issued a letter to the regional government stating that efforts by the regional government to hold elections were unconstitutional. The letter declared that the regional government is in clear violation of the decision passed by the House and the Constitution by proceeding to hold elections.

On June 10, 2020, the House of Federation passed a decision to delay elections following the recommendations from the Council of Constitutional Inquiries. The Council proposed the term extension of members of parliament, the House of Federation, regional councils, and federal and regional executives until the upcoming elections, which will be held after the government ensures that COVID-19 does not pose a threat to public health.

The letter refers to the federal Constitution vesting the power of proclaiming election law to the federal government. It further states that the National Election Board of Ethiopia is the only impartial body in the nation that can conduct free and fair elections. The Speaker also mentioned a law that states that the federal government can intervene in a regional government in cases of deteriorating security, the violation of human rights, and acts that endanger the Constitution.

The law states principles that endanger the constitutional order include armed uprisings, resorting to non-peaceful means in resolving conflict with other regional states and violations of directives given to end human rights violations taking place in the regional state. It also empowers the House to direct the Prime Minister to deploy security forces and set up a provisional administration that is accountable to the federal government.