Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — May 26, 2026 | Horn News Hub
The National Election Board of Ethiopia has officially confirmed that all 38 electoral constituencies in the Tigray region will not participate in Ethiopia’s 7th National Election scheduled to take place on June 1, 2026.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, NEBE Chairperson Melatwork Hailu said that although the board had made extensive preparations for the nationwide vote, the absence of what she described as a “reliable and enabling security environment” in Tigray made it impossible to conduct the election in the region on the scheduled date.
She stated that following the conclusion of the national election, the security situation in Tigray would be reassessed and a separate electoral timetable would be announced for the region.
Tigray has 38 constituencies, including those in the Western Tigray zone. Several opposition parties in the region, including Baytona, Arena Tigray, Baytona for Justice, 70 Enderta, Shum Tembien, and Qanchi Haki, had reportedly been preparing to participate in the election.
However, the former Tigray People’s Liberation Front had maintained that no election should take place in Tigray unless its legal status was reinstated. Combined with the ongoing political tensions in the region, the situation has resulted in Tigray being excluded from the national election schedule for the second consecutive time.
Tigray also did not participate in Ethiopia’s 6th National Election held in 2021. At the time, regional authorities rejected the federal government and election board’s decision to postpone elections and proceeded with a regional vote in September 2020. That election was later nullified under the terms of the Pretoria Agreement.
The region’s absence from the upcoming national election is expected to prolong the lack of federal parliamentary representation for Tigray residents and may further complicate the region’s broader political transition process.
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