News: TPLF grabs 189 seats out of 190 available in regional council
By Medihane Ekubamichael
@Medihane
Addis Abeba, September 15/2020 – Office of Electoral Commission of the National Regional State of Tigray announced that the regional incumbent Tigray People’s Liberation front (TPLF) has collected the remaining 37 seats out of the 38 seats of the 20 percent quota made available after the regional state amended the electoral law of its constitution with the hope of accommodating minority parties in the regional council. With the final results in, TPLF has amassed 189 of the 190 council seats.
The remaining one seat was won by the National Congress of Great Tigray (Baytona) with its 93,495 votes and 0.65 final points.
On August 06, The Tigray Regional State Council had voted to amended Art. 48/2 to amend the regional constitution to enable minority representations to fill 20 percent of the regional parliament while the ruling dominant party will possess the rest 80 percent share. The amended electoral law increased the number of seats in the regional council from the existing 152 to 190. However, the 20 percent seats were also to distributed among all contending parties based on the number of votes each party received per a seat.
Commissioner Muluwork Kidanemariyam told Addis Standard that the calculation was done based on the amended proclamation. Accordingly, 10,840,159 total valid votes were divided among the five parties who participated in the election. Out of the 38 additional seats, the value of a single seat was therefore calculated by dividing the 10,840,159 votes to the 38 seats. It resulted in 285,267.342 points for TPLF, leading it to secure the additional 37.35 seats with its 10,655,840 votes.
The preliminary results announced earlier indicated TPLF collected the whole 152 seats from the 80 percent quota seat.
The final number of votes among the five parties versus the total valid votes [10,840,159] was announced as the following:
The commission also announced that 2,757,495 turnouts were recorded out of the 2,789,254 registered voters, bringing the turnout to 98.8%, while 31,759 votes were reported unused. The Commission in its preliminary reported announced that TPLF has won 98.2 percent of the 152 seats of the 80 percent to the total seats at the council.
TPLF and Baytona with its one seat are now expected to establish the new Council of Tigray Regional State. Baytona is a newly formed nationalist party seeking for a Confederation arrangement with/within Ethiopia between independent states. Its political ideology advocates the concept of a united Ethiopia is impossible with Ethiopia’s irreconcilable historical and structural constructs.
On September 14 presser it gave, Salsay Woyane Tigray, one of the four opposition parties who participated in the regional election said its candidates and observes were subjected to intimidation by the regional incumbent TPLF. It also accused TPLF of sending its cadres door-to-door before the election and pressuring voters on which sign they should mark in the ballot box. It added that TPLF used the advantage of its incumbency to intimidate candidates & families as well as using media to defame its members.
On September 14 Office of Electoral Commission of the National Regional State of Tigray announced the end of its mission in executing the Tigray 2020 regional election with a motto “Tigray Elects.” AS