With only a few days remaining before Ethiopia holds its seventh general election, two diverging views exist: the government ispraising the smoothness of the electoral process, while others label it a “mockery.” Ongoing pre-election activities imply that the election is a high priority for the Ethiopian government, perhaps more so than for any other stakeholder. Development partners seem to follow the government’s lead in showing interest; yet, this assumed attention is contradicted by the actual level of financial support. The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) reports that it is operating under intense budgetary strain, having already requested a 9.7 billion Birr supplement to its initial 10.8 billion Birr state budget. Global funding offers little relief; foreign assistance is capped at seven million USD from a handful of UN partners and the EU(through The European Centre for Electoral Support), with the final tally remaining hazy until the post-election period, according to a recent disclosure by the Board’s chairperson.
With the exception of the Tigray region—where a state-recognized general election has not been held for over a decade—and the contested constituencies of the greater Wolqait area, which remain in limbo, NEBE has registered more than 50.5 million voters nationwide. About half of these registrations were recorded in Oromia alone. Among the registered are citizens residing “far from their regular constituencies.”
Ethiopian law accommodates the voting rights of citizens residing far from their regular constituencies by facilitating the establishment of polling stations “at or near the place where the voters are to be found.”
Special Polling Stations and The Battle of the Numbers
These legally designated “Special” polling stations cater to three specific groups: soldiers in military camps, students in higher education institutions, and—most notably in the current context—internally displaced persons (IDPs). IDPs make up a highly significant portion of the population in today’s Ethiopia. Chiefly since 2019, millions have been internally displaced due to conflict and other factors, and most remain in confined camps. Notable sites include camps in and near Mekelle, Debre Berhan, Jara and Jarrie in Wollo, as well as sites in the Gondar area (such as Debark), Benishangul-Gumuz, and Moyale in the Somali region. Millions live in these IDP camps, though the exact figures remain highly contentious, with estimates varying from under one million to as many as 4.5 million.
Discrepancies in data remain a major point of contention. Various international reports, including those from UN agencies, place the number of IDPs in Ethiopia as high as 4.5 million, [though that number is subject to slight fluctuation].Conversely, Ethiopian government statistics report a figure less than one-fourth of that amount. In an interview with The Reporter Magazine back in May 2025, Shiferaw Teklemariam (PhD), Commissioner of the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission, claimed the number was approximately one million. Available recent government data echoes the commissioner’s claim, placing it at 992,000.
The aforementioned figures do not account for very recent displacements from East Arsi or the ongoing displacement from West Shewa. During The Reporter Magazine’s visit to the camps in Debre Berhan in February, over 600 new households had arrived in the span of just two consecutive months. Furthermore, there have been institutional efforts to return IDPs to their places of origin. For instance, some families were transported back to East Wollega a year ago; however, many were unable to remain there due to persistent threats to their lives. Even those who managed to stay in Wollega are living in camps inside nearby towns rather than returning to their former rural kebeles and homes.
One point remains indisputable: the total number of IDPs is elusive for multiple reasons. On one hand, these figures are highly prone to being politicized by competing interest groups. On the other hand, the literal definition of an “IDP” heavily drives the data discrepancies. Beyond the politicization of figures, the literal definition of an “IDP” acts as another factor driving data discrepancies. Numerous displaced individuals are not officially registered or residing within designated camps; instead, they live independently, relying on temporary shelter and support from host communities. The government typically provides figures for those living within formal, designated IDP camps. However, displacement extends far beyond camp perimeters. For example, displaced populations currently residing across Gondar areas, who fled the conflict in northern Ethiopia, are not formally gathered in camps but are instead scattered among host communities.
Additionally, the case of the former Qoloji IDP camp near Jigjiga offers a different perspective on displacement statistics. This site previously housed people internally displaced from Oromia during past conflicts in areas such as West Hararghe.
“A political decision has now been made that these displaced people will either integrate into the community in their current location or be relocated to another area within the Somali region. However, they will not return to their places of origin in Oromia. Consequently, they are no longer classified as IDPs by Key stakeholders,” an expert at Ethiopian Human Rights Comision explains.
These segments of the community are widely assumed to place a high importance on ensuring their political representation—specifically, their right to vote and to be elected. One of the most notable legal frameworks safeguarding the rights of IDPs to politicalparticipation, including the right to elect and be elected, is the Kampala Convention (the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa), which Ethiopia formally ratified in 2020.
Article 9(2)(L) of the Kampala Convention expressly calls upon member states to “take necessary measures to ensure that internally displaced persons who are citizens in their country of nationality can enjoy their civic and political rights, particularly public participation, the right to vote and to be elected to public office. “
The Camp Ballot: Registration at the Special Polling Stations
With the exception of IDPs In Mekele, many IDPs nationwide have registered and collected cards for the upcoming vote. Hundreds of thousands residing in Mekele—whose exact numbers remain heavily debated and politicized—will not be voting despite being formally registered in camps. This is because the Tigray region is not participating in the seventh general election.
Efforts by The Reporter Magazine to obtain official figures from the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) regarding the total number of nationwide IDP voters were unsuccessful. However, following its initial announcement of over 50.5 million registered voters, the board later disclosed that it had registered an additional 28,632 IDPs. Information gathered by The ReporterMagazine from various IDP camps indicates that nearly all eligible voters there have collected their voting cards.
“Almost all of us have registered,” said an IDP residing at China camp, the largest IDP site in Debre Berhan. According to him, there was significant institutional pressure to ensure high turnout.
“While there are individuals who genuinely wanted to vote on their own initiative, we were also clearly told that we must collect voters’ cards. We were explicitly warned that failing to do so would affect our access to humanitarian aid. As a result, almost everyone has taken a card, with the exception of a few individuals who were temporarily away from the camp seeking spiritual healing for certain illnesses,” he told The Reporter Magazine.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is among the stakeholders with a mandate to monitor election processes in all pre-election and post-election phases focusing on human rights. In a discussion with NEBE officials and representatives of Political Parties Joint Council, the Commission noted that it covered 47 special polling stations.
Mekdes Amenu, Director of the Civil and Political Rights Department at EHRC, shared field observationsto the board’s representatives and representatives from different security apparatus that some of those special polling stations started registration late near to the closing days.
At a special polling station in Gambella, for instance, voter registration started late and was held for only three days, according to her. Similarly, registration at a special IDP polling station in the Tuli IDP camp of the Somali region lasted for just five days.
Despite these localized delays, the majority of special polling stations successfully ensured that displaced citizens were given the right to vote. According to available data, a total of 95 special polling stations have been established nationwide for the June elections, with each station set up to serve up to 700 voters.
The major concern in this regard is not whether IDPs face problems registering and collecting cards; on the contrary, it was the loophole that allowed for the possibility of double registration.
“Some officials had already started registering IDPs at polling stations within the host communities before the special polling stations were established later on. This opens up the possibility for individuals to hold two cards,” said an election observer who monitored the process at the Debre Berhan IDP camps.
Another special polling station reportedly faced another problem. At Bambasi IDP camp in Benishangul, displaced persons were registered to vote but will not cast their ballots on Monday, June 1 according to a source.
“The reason has not been disclosed, but messages have been distributed on May 27 to the concerned bodies that voting won’t take place on Monday,” the source told The Reporter Magazine.
The Representation Crisis
IDPs face severe and deeply rooted challenges, making robust political representation essential if their grievances are to be effectively addressed. The critical question remains: are these unique causes receiving adequate representation?
Political parties have hardly represented IDPs or advocated for their causes, and civil society organizations (CSOs) have shown a similar lack of focus. Currently, 169 CSOs are licensed to provide voter education, while 55 are licensed to observe the pre-election, election, and post-election phases. Among them is the Coalition of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations for Election (CECOE), which is made up of 119 CSOs.
CECOE has deployed over 522 observers to 4,396 polling stations covering all regional states and city administrations—with the exception of Tigray and the contested areas—during the pre-election phase. Yet, none of these observation efforts included components specific to IDPs.
Among the more than 10,400 candidates registered by the Board for the general election, how many are actually promoting the causes of these IDPs? That remains a question to be addressed. The gap does not end there. Direct political representation by IDPs themselves as candidates remains entirely elusive.
“I haven’t personally come across any candidates at the IDP centers, or anyone specifically championing their unique causes,” said a human rights expert who monitored the pre-election process at various special polling stations.
Abera Hailemariam is a long-serving election expert with a rich academic background in electoral policy and administration, alongside extensive exposure to electoral systems worldwide. He describes the current situation regarding IDPsas “tricky.”
“Voting must be a meaningful process, not just a shallow ritual where people are instructed to cast a ballot without genuinely understanding their interests,” he noted, explaining the dilemma facing these IDPs.
The Question of Constituency: Where Does a Displaced Vote Count?
There is another systemic issue that leaves individuals who have resided in these camps for over five years questioning the true meaning of their franchise. Several fundamental questions remain unaddressed: for whom do these IDPs vote, and in which constituency are their ballots counted?
Article 17 of the Ethiopian Electoral and Political Parties Proclamation (2019) stipulates that such matters “will be determined by the directive to be issued by the Board.” Yet, the practical implementation of this law remains entirely unsatisfactory for the IDPs in Debre Berhan. Under the current framework, the representatives they are expected to vote for belong to specific woredas in the Oromia region—the very places they fled.
“I had to register to vote for my previous district in East Wollega—the Sibu Sire woreda—from which we fled five years ago,” an IDP in Debre Berhan told The Reporter Magazine.
In fact, these IDPs have also been asked to continue paying land taxes in Wollega while living in a displaced persons’ camp in Debre Berhan. “The local administration calls us and warns that we must pay taxes on our land there, threatening that they will otherwise confiscate it. Many people, including myself, have paid the tax in the hope that we will eventually return. Yet, we have still been stuck here for over five years,” he said.
“Elections are fundamentally about representation, but IDPs who have been away for five years may no longer know the candidates running in their places of origin,” Abera explains. “Conversely, if they vote in their host communities, local residents might fear that the influx of new voters will alter election outcomes or disturb the local political equilibrium.”
The senior election expert highlights an additional challenge: the logistical dilemma of securing and transporting ballots back to the voters’ places of origin. According to him, this is “a process that is highly time-sensitive and difficult.”
An independent observer who monitored the pre-election process at IDP camps in Moyale, located in the Somali regional state, shared an account with The Reporter Magazine that underscores the need to clarify the question of where IDPs vote.
“An issue arose because the language used on their voting cards was Afaan Oromo. In response, the IDPs refused to register unless this was changed. As far as I am aware, the registration process there was halted,” the observer stated. It remains unclear how NEBE and other concerned authorities have addressed this standoff, whether registration ultimately resumed, or if voting will take place at that specific special polling station.
This dilemma highlights a deep structural contradiction. On one hand, IDPs reside in these camps temporarily, which legally bars them from voting for representatives in their current host constituencies. On the other hand, many of these citizens have been displaced for several years; they have no connection to the candidates running in their original districts, and in some instances, those very candidates are viewed as complicit in the conditions that led to their displacement. This dual reality leaves Ethiopia’s displaced populations in a profound political limbo, demanding a nuanced solution that matches the complexity of their plight.
“We simply cannot turn a blind eye to the sheer scale of displacement in this country,” Abera stressed.
Note: The Bambasi IDP camp in Benishangul-Gumuz was not the only special polling station where voting failed to take place on June 1, 2026. We have confirmed from residents of major IDP camps that no visible preparations have been made, and no one has informed the residents when voting will occur.
