Bloomberg || Ethiopia is considering whether it can hold elections as scheduled in August as the coronavirus epidemic spreads.
“If we can control the disease and get through it in a short time, like China did, then elections would be held on schedule. This is preferable,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a televised address to the public on Saturday. Ethiopia has nine confirmed cases.
The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia asked its employees to work from home on March 16 after one of its technical advisers showed coronavirus symptoms; the test results returned negative, the board said.
In a meeting with 45 political parties on Friday, the board discussed contingency plans, the board said in a statement. The election is scheduled for Aug. 29, while voter registration and election campaigns start on April 22 and May 28 respectively.
