Lawmakers Vote Human Rights Commission out of Election Observer Role

Jul 18 , 2020

Lawmakers have taken out the observer role of the Human Rights Commission in general elections in the newly approved revised establishment proclamation of the Commission. The Commission is instead obligated to give full focus only to issues related to human rights during the period of a general election. The establishing proclamation was given a green light in the presence of 290 members of the parliament with one abstention. Parliamentarians, during the presentation of the report by the Law, Justice & Democracy standing committee, enforced the change of the provision that granted the commissioner or the deputy commissioner to work part-time at the Commission. After the session, the approved proclamation compels the executives of the Commission to work full time. The revised proclamation has also restructured the nominations of the committee members of the Commission by adding new members from the National Election Board of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Academy of Science, civil society organisations, and another member to be elected by the joint agreement of opposition parties and given a seat in the House.