The main opposition party of Ethiopia condemned the ban on its activities, claiming that it represented a “serious threat” against the peace agreement in 2022 which ended two years of conflict in the northern Tray region.
The Popular Liberation Front of Tray (TPLF) called for the African Union to mediate with the federal government after the electoral agency revoked its legal status as a party.
The party, which governs Tray and dominated the whole country for many years, was prohibited Wednesday for omitting a general meeting.
The decision follows months of political tensions in Tigray and obtains on the elections on a national scale which should take place by June of last year.
The party led a coalition that overthrew the government in 1991 and ruled Ethiopia until 2018 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took power.
He then dissolved this coalition and formed a new party, which was rejected by the TPLF.
The dispute led to a civil war that saw tens of thousands of people killed and millions of people forced from their home in northern Ethiopia before the signing of a truce in November 2022.
The party manages the interim administration of TIGRAY which was created in 2023 within the framework of the peace agreement, known as Pretoria Peace Actress.
But the party was unable to carry out internal elections due to a split, with two factions which claimed control of the party.
The Ethiopia National Electoral Council, which oversees the conduct of political parties, “resolved on Wednesday in Éclister officially” the TPLF on the grounds that it had not drawn from a general meeting.
But the party protested against this decision and called on the African Union to exert “pressure” on the federal government to suspend the application of the ban.
In a letter to the AU, the party declared that the ban “denies the TPLF a right it had recovered by the Pretoria agreement and constitutes a serious threat to the foundation of the peace process”.
He added that the peace agreement stipulated that the two parties recognize the legitimacy of the other and that any political problem should be resolved by dialogue.
TPLF vice-president Ammanuel Assefa told the BBC that the decision of the electoral council could “harm the Pretoria agreement” which “will be dangerous”.
“It’s not just a question of TPLF, but also to undermine what people have sacrificed,” added Ammanuel.
The delays in the implementation of the terms of the agreement, including the return of a million people displaced by the war, fueled the fears of new violence in Tigray.
Several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, have warned of the climbing of tensions, saying that there must be “no return to violence”.
