The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) on Monday dismissed the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) as a political party for alleged participation in violence and attempt to dismantle the constitutional order by force.
TPLF has served as a political party for 45 years and dominated Ethiopian politics while at it for nearly three decades. Now it has been dissolved as a political party.
TPLF was established in 1975 at a time when millions of people in Africa and Middle East were demanding for liberation. By 1980s, TPLF had become of the most effective Ethiopian armed rebel groups under the banner of Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Their objective was to fight the Ethiopian regime at that time. On 28 May 1991, TPLF rebel group with the help of Eritrean forces seized control of Addis Ababa, the capital City of Ethiopia.
In 2018, Dr. Abiy Ahmed took over the reigns from the ruling coalition in which TPLF was a member. Abiy is of Oromo-Amharic parentage. He took over as the Prime Minister under the Prosperity Party.
The alleged attack on the federal military bases in Tigray triggered a security operation in the state. The federal army took three weeks to win the war in Tigray. Most of the founding members of TPLF have either been captured or killed. It is not cleared whether Tigray’s former president Debretsion Geberemichael is alive.
The Ethiopian elections board has indicated that TPLF failed to meet the set requirements in order to have their license renewed. Hence, NEBE renounced the legitimacy of TPLF based on proclamation 1162/2011 sub article 98/1/4 of the Ethiopian election law.
The elections board further requested the Federal Attorney General to reveal details of assets registered in under the name of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). According to the NEBE’s statement, TPLF’s assets remaining after paying debts will be spent on ethics education program.
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