TPLF says

Ethiopia’s main opposition party called on the African Union to mediate with the federal government after the Election Board overturns its legal status as a party.

The Tigrai people’s liberation front (TPLF) said the relocation of his ban on any political activity was “dangerous” and posed a “serious threat” to the deal in 2022, which put an end to two years of conflict in the northern region of Tigrai.

The party, which has ruled Tigrai and has dominated throughout the country for many years, was banned on Wednesday for failing to hold a general meeting.

The decision follows months of political tension in Tigrai and comes to the national elections, which should be held by June next year.

The party has led a coalition that has organized a coup since 1991 and governed Ethiopia until 2018, when Prime Minister Abius Ahmed took power.

He waged a brutal two -year civil war against the federal government, which ended with a truce signed in November 2022, after tens of thousands of people were killed and millions forced by their homes in Northern Ethiopia.

The party leads the temporary administration of Tigrai, which was established in 2023 as part of the peace deal known as the peace agreement of Pretoria.

But the party failed to hold the internal elections for separation, with two factions claiming control of the party.

The Ethiopia National Election Council, which controls the behavior of political parties, on Wednesday, “decided to officially Dregister” TPLF on the grounds that he failed to hold a general meeting.

But the party protested against this move and called on the African Union to put “pressure” on the federal government to suspend the implementation of the ban.

In a letter to the AU, the party stated that the ban “denied the TPLF law that has returned through the Pretoria Agreement and poses a serious threat to the basis of the peace process.”

He added that the peace transaction predicts that both sides acknowledge the legitimacy of their mutual and every political issue must be resolved by dialogue.

TPLF Vice -President Amanuel Asefa told the BBC that the Election Board’s decision could “harm the Pretoria Agreement”, which “will be dangerous”.

“This is not only for TPLF, but also for the undermining of what people have sacrificed,” Aanuel added.

The delay in applying the terms of the agreement, including the return of one million people displaced by the war, have nourished fears of new violence in Tigrai.

Several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, have warned of escalating tensions, saying that there should be a “return to violence.”