National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) chosen June 5, 2021 and June 12, 2021 to be voting dates for the sixth general election of the country.
The voting date for the two city administrations – Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa will take place on June 12, 2021, while Ethiopians in the rest of Ethiopia excluding Tigray region will vote on June 5, 2021. Election result will be announced starting June 6, 2021, according to NEBE.
Meanwhile the sixth general election of Ethiopia will not take place in Tigray region. This because the region is under state of emergency following the three weeks long war between the federal army and militias of Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) starting November 4, 2020.
In a related development, side by side to voting date, several zones in Southern region of Ethiopia, namely Western Omo, Dawro, Konta, Benchi, Sheko, and Sheka will vote for a referendum on June 5 to merge and form a new region in Ethiopia called South Western Ethiopia, according to the Board.
The zones have submitted their request for referendum to the House of Federation of Ethiopia, which gave green light for NEBE to handle the referendum on the same date of the voting for the sixth general election – June 5, 2021.