Addis Ababa Halts Funding to Tigray Region over Unilateral Elections

On Wednesday, Addis Ababa decided to halt its funding to the Tigray regional government in response to the unilateral elections that were held last month and rejected by the central Ethiopian government.

A big number of Ethiopian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to cut off contact with leaders of the northern Tigray region, which defied Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last month by holding elections his government deemed "illegal".

Notably, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has unilaterally held elections in the northern region after forming its own electoral commission – a move which officials called “unconstitutional”.

“No one can hold election in Ethiopia except the national electoral board of Ethiopia as per article the constitution’s article 102,” said Worku Adamu, chairman of Constitutional and Identity Affairs Standing Committee of the house of federation.

Tigray is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, the Amhara Region to the south and the Afar Region to the east and south east. Besides Mekelle, major cities include Adigrat, Aksum, Shire, Humera, Adwa, Adi Remets, Alamata, Wukro, Maychew, Sheraro, Abiy Adi, Korem, Qwiha, Atsbi, Hawzen, Mekoni, Dansha and Zalambessa. There is also the historically significant town of Yeha.

The government of Tigray is composed of the executive branch, led by the President; the legislative branch, which comprises the State Council; and the judicial branch, which is led by the state Supreme Court.