Health Ministry Greenlights General Elections

Sep 19 , 2020

The Ministry of Health has given approval for holding the general elections in accordance with strict safety precautions. Reported in the presence of 287 parliamentarians, Lia Tadesse (MD), minister of Health, stressed that the elections can be held with new regulations and directives in line with the pandemic and by implementing specific safety measures in areas with higher numbers of cases. The general election, which was set to be held on August 29, 2020, had been postponed due to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). It was expected to be held nine months following a declaration by the Ministry of Health stating the virus as no longer a threat for conducting elections. Ethiopia has currently conducted close to 1.2 million COVID-19 tests, the third highest number on the continent. From the conducted tests, over 66,000 people have been confirmed to have the virus with 58pc of cases originating from Addis Abeba and higher percentages coming from Oromia, Tigray and Amhara regional states.  The general elections were originally set to be held on August 29, 2020, and election campaigns were scheduled from May 28 to August 24, 2020. The results of the election were also set to be announced between August 30 and September 8, 2020, accordingly.