Number of Registered Voters Exceeds 25 Million

15 March 2005

The total number of voters registered for the forthcoming federal and regional elections is 25,605,851, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia announced today.

Board staff have been conducting voter registration at polling stations throughout the state since last February. Voters will go to the polls on 15 May 2005 to elect representatives to the House of Peoples’ Representatives, as well as Regional Councils and city administrations.

Each registered voter has been issued with an elector’s card bearing his or her name, place of birth, designated polling station, registration number and signature or thumb mark. This card must be produced on election day in order to vote.

The names of registered voters have been entered on an electoral roll. Any eligible voter whose name is not included in the final electoral role will not be able to vote.

The number of registered voters announced by the Board today does not include the Somali region where registration of voters will take place in July. Voters in the 23 constituencies in the Somali region will go to the polls on 15 August 2005.

The deferral of registration and voting in the Somalia region is due to logistical reasons. People in this region are pastoralists and mobile registration units are needed to register voters. Because this process requires intensive use of the Board’s resources, elections in this region cannot be held at the same time as the other regions.

Ends