A 10-day window to nominate the chairperson for the National Election Board begins this week. In a quest to find a replacement for Birtukan Mideksa, former chair, who resigned citing health concerns, an eight-member recruitment committee was handpicked by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) almost a week ago. Chairing the Board is Tagay Tadele (Kesis) from the Ethiopian Inter-religious Council along with notable names such as Kassahun Follo from the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Union and Regbe Gebrehawaria from the Human Rights Commission. With a national election scheduled for 2026, this will be the first time the chairperson of the election board has been implemented through the Proclamation ratified five years ago. The nomination process for the seven criteria of Proclamation 1133/2011 will not be public, except for media briefings. Tagay clarified that individuals who meet the criteria can be nominated through a letter, phone, or digital platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. He explained that nominees will be sifted through until the end of the month, with two final ones submitted to the PM, who will then pass it on to the Parliament.

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