FDRE Government Communication Service issues statement on current affairs

Addis Ababa, August 12, 2024 (FBC) – The FDRE Government Communication Service (GCS) issued a statement today regarding current affairs.

The ultimate goal of the Pretoria Peace Agreement to protect the Ethiopian Constitution and constitutional institutions, the GCS emphasized in its statement issued on Monday 12th of August.

Recently, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) issued a statement regarding the registration certificate of TPLF in accordance with Article 2 (1) of the recently amended Election Proclamation No. 1332/2016.

The government accepts and appreciates the decisions made by constitutional institutions with legal and institutional freedom, as it is one of the fruits of the national reform undertaken by the Ethiopian government, the statement noted.

GCS further recalled that TPLF lost its political legitimacy as a result of the decision of NEBE based on the Ethiopian Electoral, Political Parties Registration and Election Code of Conduct Proclamation. This decision was passed by NEBE in light of TPLF’s engagement in violence and conflict in 2020.

NEBE passed that decision before the House of People’s Representatives listed TPLF as a terrorist group and it is a separate decision with its own legal basis, GCS asserted.

When the Pretoria Agreement was concluded in November 2022, the federal government’s obligation under the agreement was to abrogate TPLF from the list of terrorist organizations in accordance with Article 7 (2) / section C.

There was no specific responsibility or obligation that the federal government entered in the Pretoria Agreement regarding the legal status and registration of TPLF, the statement from the Federal Government Communication Service further reminded

Also, according to Article 7 (1) (A) of the Pretoria Agreement, TPLF has committed to respect the country’s constitution, laws, federal institutions, and other constitutional institutions.

In that regard, it is clear that TPLF has an obligation to work in compliance with the country’s political parties’ registration law and the mandate of NEBE.

Therefore, regardless of the Pretoria Agreement, the issue of the legal status of TPLF is a matter that should be resolved only in accordance with the relevant laws and the procedures of the National Election Board of Ethiopia.

In this regard, the federal government has been making efforts to facilitate the conditions for the National Election Board of Ethiopia and the leaders of TPLF to have legal recognition as a political party.

Accordingly, the national election board’s position was that TPLF can be registered and recognized as a new party in accordance with the rules and regulations for the establishment of any new political party, but there is no legal procedure for it to be registered with its former status.

However, the position of TPLF was that to be registered as an existing and long-standing political organization, not as a new political party. TPLF also argued that this issue is not only legal, but also political, so it requires a different political decision.

Considering these different positions and interests, the federal government believes that the best way to resolve the issue, taking into account the importance of maintaining peace, as well as the independence and neutrality of democratic institutions, is to amend the law to facilitate the way that TPLF and other armed groups can come into legal compliance. To this effect, a bills was proposed to the parliament and was approved immediately.

In addition, the Ministry of Justice has written a letter to the national election board regarding the implementation of the Pretoria peace agreement, which is necessary or a prerequisite for the TPLF to gain legal status.

In this way, everything that can be done by the government has been done so that the issue of the legal status of TPLF can be resolved.

The Federal Government has gone more than half the distance, going beyond its obligations under the Pretoria Agreement and held a series of discussions with the election board and TPLF on the matter.

In light of the amendments made to the law, the government had submitted a request to NEBE for cooperation in registering TPLF to have legal status.

Following this, TPLF’s party documents, such as the party’s programs and guidelines, as well as other related documents, which are required to obtain legal status and recognition, were registered and obtained legal status according to the revised proclamation.

GCS’s statement stressed that all stakeholders need to shift their attention and efforts towards strengthening peace, reconstruction and development endeavors by putting an end to the issue of registration and legal status.

The statement further underlined that the main focus should now be maintaining peace and development agendas that benefit the people.