Sep 1, 2025 | press release
ADDIS ABABA – The Coalition of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations for Elections (CECOE) released its “Monitoring Report: Nomination, selection, and appointment process of the new members of the National Election Board of Ethiopia.” The report provided an in-depth, assessment of the NEBE’s 2025 board member appointment process, which concluded on June 12, 2025.
The report identified both the commendable aspects and the deficiencies of the recent selection and appointment procedure. On the positive side, CECOE acknowledged the process’s strengths, including the successful utilization of diverse public outreach channels to solicit a wide range of nominations. The report also highlighted the notable ethnic and religious diversity among the shortlisted candidates as a positive step towards fostering an inclusive electoral institution.
However, the analysis also pointed to several critical areas for improvement. A central finding of the report was the lack of transparency surrounding the shortlisting phase, specifically the insufficient public disclosure of the exact criteria that were used to narrow the pool of over 1,000 nominees. Furthermore, the report noted a significant overrepresentation of candidates with legal backgrounds, suggesting a need for greater emphasis on candidates with varied technical and managerial expertise to ensure a more balanced board.
In its concluding section, CECOE provided a series of specific, actionable recommendations. These proposals were directed at key stakeholders, including the Nomination Committee, political parties, and Civil Society Organizations, with the aim of promoting greater transparency, enhancing the diversity of skills, and strengthening the overall integrity of future appointment processes for the NEBE.
The report is available at: https://cecoe.org/download/monitoring-report-nomination-selection-and-appointment-process-of-the-new-members-of-the-national-election-board-of-ethiopia/
Jun 22, 2024 | press release
June 22, 2024
CECOE
Addis Ababa
The Coalition of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations for Elections (CECOE) has finalized its preparation to observe the remaining and outstanding elections in Benishangul Gumuz, Afar, Central Ethiopia, and Somali regions.
CECOE has conducted a one-day trainings to a total of 15 Long Term Observers (LTOs) who were drawn from its member organizations in Assosa, Semera, Butajira, and Jigjiga cities, and deployd them to observe the pre-election environment.
CECOE also organized trainings for the Short Term Observers(STOs) on June 19 and 20, 2024 in Asossa, Semera, Butajira, and Jigjiga cities to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to observe the electoral process on polling day.
In addition, CECOE has also organized simulation exercises for STOs on how to report to CECOE’s Data Center their observation findings in real time using the state of art technology SMS and Apollo.
On June 23, 2024 CECOE will deploy a total of 84 stationary observers who will observe the whole election day process in the polling stations where they are assigned to observe the voting processes.
CECOE will publish a comprehensive observation report consisting of the pre-election, election Day and post-election observation findings.
Jun 22, 2024 | press release
ሰኔ 15፣ 2016 ዓ.ም
ኅብረት ለምርጫ
አዲስ አበባ
የኢትዮጵያ ሲቪል ማህበራት ደረጅቶች ኅብረት ለምርጫ (ኅብረት ለምርጫ) በቤኒሻንጉል ጉሙዝ፣ በአፋር፣ በማዕከላዊ ኢትዮጵያ እና ሶማሌ ክልሎች የሚካሄደውን ቀሪ እና የድጋሚ ምርጫ ለመታዘብ ዝግጅቱን አጠናቅቋል።
ቀደም ሲል ኅብረት ለምርጫ የቅድመ ምርጫ ከባቢን ለመታዘብ በአሶሳ፣ ሰመራ፣ ቡታጅራ እና ጅግጅጋ ከሚንቀሳቀሱ አባል ድርጅቶቹ የተውጣጡ 15 የረጅም ጊዜ ታዛቢዎችን በመመልመል የአንድ ቀን ስልጠና ሰጥቶ ማስማራቱ ይታውቃል።
በተመሳሳይም ኅብረት ለምርጫ በድምጽ መስጫ ቀን የድምጽ አስጣጥ ሂደቱን የሚታዘቡ የአጭር ግዜ ታዛቢዎች አስፈላጊው ክህሎትና እውቀት እንዲኖራቸው ሰኔ 12 እና 13 ቀን 2016 ዓ.ም በአሶሳ፣ ሰመራ፣ ቡታጅራ እና ጅግጅጋ ከተሞች 84 ታዛቢዎች የአንድ ቀን ስልጠናዎችን ሰጥቷል። ከዚህ በተጨማሪም ለአጭር ግዜ ታዛቢወች የጽሁፍ መልዕክትን እና የአፖሎ ቴክኖሎጂን በመጠቀም የትዝብት ሪፖርታቸውን ወዲያውኑ በኅብረት ለምርጫ ፅ/ቤት ውስጥ ለተቋቋመው የመረጃ ማዕከል ሪፖርት ማድረግ የሚያስችላቸወን በተግባር የተደገፈ ስልጠና ከመስጠቱም በላይ የማስመሰል(ሲሚዩሌሽን) ልምምዶችን አዘጋጅቶላቸዋል።
ኅብረት ለምርጫ ሰኔ 16 ቀን 2016 ዓ.ም ለሚካሄደው ምርጫ በአጠቃላይ 84 ተቀማጭ ታዛቢዎችን ለማስማራት አቅዷል። እነዚህ ተቀማጭ የድምጽ መስጫ ቀን ታዛቢዎች በየተመደቡባቸው የድምጽ መስጫ ጣቢያዎች ቀኑን ሙሉ የምርጫውን ሂደት እየታዘቡ የሚቆዩ ይሆናል።
በመጨረሻም ኅብረት ለምርጫ የቅድመ-ምርጫ፣ የድምጽ መስጫ ቀን እና የድህረ-ምርጫ የትዝብት ግኝቶችን ያካተተ አጠቃላይ ሪፖርት ይፋ የሚያደርግ መሆኑን መግለጽ ይወዳል።
Jun 6, 2024 | news
The Coalition of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations for Elections (CECOE) has initiated a groundbreaking project titled “Civic Education for Better Civic Engagement and Political Participation in Ethiopia”, which aims to enhance civic awareness and democratic participation across the nation. This project is funded by the German Government and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH under the “Support to Good Governance (S2GG) in Ethiopia” programme, aims to enhance civic awareness and democratic participation across the nation.
Civic education in Ethiopia, though part of the general education curriculum, has struggled to instill democratic values or empower the public for meaningful political participation. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have recognized the need for enhanced civic education programs that are inclusive and context-sensitive, addressing cultural diversity, regional disparities, and varying literacy levels. By improving their capacity to design and implement effective civic education initiatives, CSOs can help build a well-informed and engaged citizenry capable of driving social change.
The CECOE project is focused on delivering digital civic education through interactive audiovisual (radio spots and video ads), social media, and printed materials. The main objectives of the project include enhancing civic knowledge to improve citizens’ understanding of their rights, duties, governance structures, and the functioning of democratic institutions. It also aims to promote inclusive participation by ensuring equitable access to information and resources and encouraging active involvement in political and civic affairs.
CECOE, a coalition of over 175 local civil society organizations, has a proven track record of promoting civic engagement and electoral participation. During the Sixth Ethiopian General Elections, CECOE’s efforts in deploying several thousand election observers and conducting voter education campaigns were instrumental in reaching millions of citizens. By launching this new project, CECOE aims to build on this success by fostering a more informed and engaged citizenry, capable of contributing to the stabilization and democratization of Ethiopia’s political landscape.
In the context of political volatility and societal challenges, the “Civic Education for Better Civic Engagement and Political Participation in Ethiopia” project contributes to the effort in building a more democratic and inclusive Ethiopia. By equipping citizens with the knowledge and tools to participate in democratic processes, this initiative aims to contribute to the stabilization and democratization of Ethiopia’s political landscape.
May 6, 2024 | Success Stories
The 6th Ethiopian general elections witnessed increased civil society participation in voter education activities following the repeal of restrictive laws. However, the report from the NDI-IRI Limited International Election Observation Mission to Ethiopia (LEOME)1 pointed out that most civil society organizations (CSOs) began their voter education activities only in the final weeks of voter registration. This timing had a detrimental effect on the impact of their initiatives in their respective communities. Recognizing this issue, following the conclusion of the 6th general elections, CECOE conducted an assessment titled “Voter Education Activities by Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations During the Sixth Ethiopian General Elections.”2 to identify challenges in voter education, assess its role in raising awareness and participation, analyze communication methods, measure the effectiveness of creative channels and technologies, and evaluate CSO program reach and efficacy. On April 7, 2022, CECOE organized a validation workshop to discuss the findings of the assessment. Nearly 50 participants from across the region, including NEBE representatives, attended the workshop. The assessment identified the late February 2021 accreditation by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) as the root cause of the problem. With limited time remaining, CSOs faced challenges in applying for donor funds and planning activities, resulting in a rushed and less effective voter education campaign. These findings aligned with the NDI-IRI Limited Election Observation Mission to Ethiopia (LEOME) report, further reinforcing the issue.
From Observations to Advocacy
CECOE didn’t stop at highlighting the problem. CECOE developed a commentary titled “Support for Civil Society Organizations Engaged in the Provisions of Voter Education Needs Improvement.”3 This commentary presented a clear solution: The commentary advocated for two options: permanent accreditation for qualified organizations, or significantly earlier accreditation cycles before elections.
A Permanent Solution
CECOE’s advocacy efforts have borne fruit. NEBE has started a permanent accreditation for CSOs engaged in voter education which empowers CSOs to plan and execute comprehensive voter education programs well in advance.
Looking Forward
CECOE commends NEBE’s decision and considers it a significant advocacy success. While recognizing this success, CECOE is dedicated to advocating for other unresolved issues. This success underscores the vital role of civil society advocacy, as CECOE strives to positively impact the electoral process in Ethiopia through research, strategic communication, and unwavering commitment.
