Ethiopian voter registration process plagued by digital failures, accessibility issues, and security incidents, coalition reports

The Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations Coalition for Election CECOE reported that the voter registration process for the country’s seventh general election was marked by repeated digital system failures, limited accessibility for people with disabilities, and security incidents. These incidents included killings, abductions, and intimidation targeting election officials. CECOE, accredited by the National Election Board of Ethiopia NEBE, deployed 522 long-term observers to nearly 4,400 voter registration centers across all regional states and city administrations, excluding Tigray. The coalition noted that while 97 percent of registration centers were in legally authorized sites, some operated from prohibited locations such as military camps, police facilities, religious institutions, health centers, bars, hotels, political party offices, and private residences. Interruptions affected a third of manual registration centers and over a quarter of digital centers. Accessibility was a major concern, with only 12 percent of manual and 23 percent of tablet-based stations independently accessible to people with disabilities. Similarly, only 11 percent of manual and 20 percent of digital centers were accessible to the elderly, pregnant women, and parents with infants. However, about 90 percent of both manual and tablet-based stations were considered reasonably accessible and secure for women. The report documented one killing of an election official, two attempted killings, seven a