TPLF Congress begins in Mekele amid criticism for bypassing due process and lacking approval

The 14th Congress of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) began in Mekele despite criticism for not adhering to due process and lacking approval from senior leaders, members, and the National Electoral Board.

Held in the Martyrs’ Hall in Mekele, the meeting has caused divisions between the TPLF chairman and deputy, with opposing factions now at odds.

The TPLF, which is in dispute with the Ethiopian Electoral Board (NEBE) over the restoration of its former legal status, received a letter from the Board indicating that the meeting would proceed without following the expected process or gaining official recognition.

Members of the TPLF and leaders from various parts of the Tigray region began arriving in Mekele on Monday to attend the meeting.

On the other hand, 17 members of the Central Committee, including the President of the Tigray Interim Administration and deputy leader Getachew Reda, and heads of most southern and southeastern districts of Tigray as well as Mekele City sub-cities, have announced they will not participate in the meeting.

In a letter on Tuesday, Getachew stated, “The event holds no value other than endangering both the party and the people of Tigray.” Getachew said that some of the party’s leaders organized the meeting “with the aim of removing those whom they believe oppose them.”

The NEBE recently granted the TPLF legal recognition as a new political party under “special circumstances” and stated that the meeting could not proceed without the board’s knowledge and the presence of its observers.

In a letter dated Monday, August 12, the day before the meeting, the NEBE informed the TPLF that it would not recognize the meeting or any decisions made if it proceeded without the NEBE’s Board’s approval.

NEBE stated that the party will be governed according to Ethiopian electoral politics, registration of parties, and electoral conduct reform, as well as the Board’s decisions. NEBE must be notified three weeks before the General Assembly, and its observers must attend the meeting.

The TPLF stated that it did not accept its recognition as a new political party under “special circumstances” and had requested the restoration of its previous status; however, the response was different.

TPLF officials and their counterparts in the Prosperity Party have been negotiating the conditions for the party’s reinstatement, with the TPLF leadership seeking to restore its pre-war status. Senior TPLF leaders met with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other federal officials in May, and they announced that a consensus has been reached to reinstate the party’s legal status.

The TPLF also stated that during a meeting with the federal government and the TPLF at the African Union High-Level Panel, an agreement was reached to restore the party’s former legal status.

However, the NEBE board disregarded the consensus reached and rejected the TPLF’s request, it said.