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The Federation Chamber, which governs constitutional disputes, unanimously declared that elections for the regional parliament and other positions were “unconstitutional and therefore void,” the body said in a statement.
Getachew Reda, a spokesman for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that runs the northern province, told Reuters in a text message on Friday that the vote would continue despite pressure from the central government.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has liberalized the politics and economy of what was once one of the most controlled countries in Africa since he took power in 2018.
But those reforms have also sparked ethnic tensions and occasional outbreaks of violence, as politicians in the provinces have asserted their authority over that of the central government.
The TPLF, one of the founding groups of a coalition of ethnic parties that has ruled the country since the 1990s, stayed on the sidelines of a new unified ruling party formed under Abiy.
In March, Ethiopia postponed parliamentary and regional elections scheduled for August, citing the coronavirus pandemic. A new date has yet to be set.
The International Crisis Group think tank said last month that the Tigray administration and the central government were on a “collision course.” The Abiy government “would consider any new regional administration illegitimate” if elections are held, the group said.
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