The National Election Board of Ethiopia will deploy joint security assessment teams to polling station areas ahead of the June general election, following disagreements between the board and political parties over existing security categorizations.
Melatework Hailu, the Board chairperson, announced the deployment during a Monday session with political parties, civil society organizations and stakeholders to discuss assessment modalities and terms.
The assessment teams will comprise NEBE officials, political parties and civil society organizations, according to a board statement. The joint composition represents an attempt to address disputes over the board's current security classification system.
"Based on the security situation information received from government security offices and political parties, different discussions have been underway. Now we discuss to determine the role of the team to be on the ground to verify the actual situation," Hailu said while opening the Monday session.
The deployment follows tensions over NEBE's existing polling station categorization system. The board had previously classified polling stations across the country as green, yellow and red based on security conditions in their respective areas.
Political parties challenged this categorization, arguing the information relied solely on government security data. Parties complained they were unable to list candidates in some areas designated as green or yellow, prompting them to develop their own independent security assessments.
The disagreement created a standoff between the election board and political parties over which security analysis should guide candidate registration and polling preparations. Parties questioned the accuracy and completeness of government security assessments used in the board's original categorization.
The board decided to deploy ground assessment teams to reach consensus on realistic security classifications for polling stations. The joint composition aims to incorporate multiple perspectives on security conditions rather than relying on single-source government data.
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The assessment comes as NEBE prepares for the June general election amid broader logistical challenges. The board recently extended voter registration deadlines due to operational difficulties in various regions.
The security assessment initiative reflects ongoing concerns about election safety in different parts of the country. The board's original three-tier classification system was designed to identify areas requiring enhanced security measures during voting.
Political parties' development of independent security analyses suggests significant gaps between official government assessments and opposition party evaluations of ground conditions. The joint assessment teams represent an attempt to bridge these differences through collaborative on-site verification.
The teams will conduct field assessments to verify actual security situations at polling locations across the country. The board has not specified a timeline for completing the assessments or how findings will influence final polling station classifications.
Civil society organizations' inclusion in the assessment teams adds a third-party perspective to security evaluations. CSO participation may help legitimize final security classifications among different political stakeholders.
The joint security assessment approach reflects broader challenges facing Ethiopia's electoral process. Previous national elections have encountered security difficulties in various regions, with disputes over polling station accessibility and safety affecting voter participation. The current collaborative assessment model represents a departure from previous unilateral security determinations, potentially setting a precedent for multi-stakeholder election security planning. The outcome of these assessments will likely influence not only polling station operations but also the broader credibility of the June election among political parties and international observers.
