Over 9 mln registered for Ethiopia's general election in 1st week

ADDIS ABABA, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) announced Friday that more than nine million voters have registered during the past week to take part in the country's upcoming general election, scheduled for June 1.

While addressing the media, NEBE Chairperson Melatwork Hailu said more than nine million eligible citizens have registered to vote within the first week of registration for the East African country's 7th general election.

Noting that the registration process has been progressing steadily across the country since it officially began last week, Hailu said the registration is expected to run for one month on both digital and manual systems.

According to the NEBE, a total of 47 political parties have registered 10,934 candidates to compete in the election. Of these, 2,198 candidates will contest for seats in the Ethiopian House of Peoples' Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, while 8,736 candidates are running for positions in various regional councils. Some 73 independent candidates have also registered to participate in the general election.

Noting that voter registration is underway at 46,750 polling stations across the country, the NEBE chief said that the distribution of election materials has largely been completed to ensure the smooth conduct of the registration process.

Earlier this year, the NEBE introduced a digital platform to modernize voter and candidate registration. The newly launched platform, featuring mobile and web-based applications, was said to reflect the NEBE's wider initiative to modernize the country's electoral system through the application of modern technologies. ■