Ethiopia’s highly anticipated general elections in August this year have been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The country’s electoral board said it will announce a new date for the polls when the pandemic comes down.
According to the the board planning for the general elections has become difficult in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
It said obtaining election materials on time and training staff for the elections would be challenging at this moment.
The electoral board of Ethiopia is led by Birtukan Mideska, a former judge and leading opposition figure.
She was appointed head of Ethiopia’s electoral board in November 2018 by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who came to office in 2018.
Per the election schedule, voter registration was supposed to have started in April with political parties commencing their campaigns late in May.
There are several African countries due for general elections this year.
It is not yet know if some will follow Ethiopia’s example to postpone elections because of the coronavirus.
Over 400 people who have been infected by the coronavirus in Africa have now recovered, according to health experts.
The continent has so far recorded over 5,255 cases with deaths now hitting at least 172 across the entire region as at March 31, 2020.
Egypt has 150 people recovering from the pandemic, the highest in Africa, followed by Algeria with 77 recoveries.
Countries like Ghana, Burkina Faso, and South Africa have all recorded at least 31 recoveries.
Source: Africafeeds.com
