NEBE Announces Expanded Airtime Allocation as Parties Underutilized Media in Previous Election

Mar 30 , 2026.

Ethiopia’s National Election Board held a briefing on Saturday, March 28, 2026, at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel outlining free media access for political parties ahead of the 7th national election.

At the event, the National Election Board of Ethiopia detailed that parties will receive 782.5 hours of radio airtime, 513.45 hours on television, and 576 newspaper columns, distributed across 50 media outlets nationwide. Compared to the previous national election, this represents a 10% increase in total media access.

Out of the 50 media outlets, 24 are radio stations, evenly divided between government-controlled state radio and private broadcasters. 20 are television stations, of which 12 are government-controlled and 8 are privately owned. The remaining 6 outlets are newspapers, all of which are government-controlled.

The distribution of airtime follows a structured formula: 40% is shared equally among all parties, 25% is allocated based on the total number of candidates fielded by each party, 15% is allocated based on the number of candidates with disabilities, 15% based on the number of women candidates, and 5% based on women candidates with disabilities.

According to Haimanot Zeleke, Director General of the Ethiopian Media Authority, the initiative aims to improve equitable access to voters through public media platforms.

Data from the 6th national election indicates that a substantial portion of allocated airtime went unused. Political parties utilized 376.83 hours out of 711 hours of radio airtime, leaving 46.8% unused, while on television they used 335.34 hours out of 558.9 hours, leaving 40% unused.

For the upcoming election cycle, the free airtime allocation will run from Wednesday, April 1, 2026, to May 27, 2026, covering 40 days, excluding weekends and public holidays.

PUBLISHED ON Mar 30,2026 [ VOL 26 , NO 1353]