The Government of Ireland signed a financing agreement with UNDP to support Ethiopia’s upcoming election

July 4, 2019

Left to right: Ambassador Sonja Hyland and Turhan Saleh, UNDP Ethiopia Resident Representative

The Government of Ireland signed today a Euro 700,000 financing agreement with UNDP to support Ethiopia’s upcoming election. The fund is channeled through “Supporting Elections for Ethiopia’s Democracy Strengthening (SEEDS)” project towards supporting the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE).

The project will strengthen the institutional and logistical capacity of NEBE to deliver on its mandate of delivering free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in Ethiopia.  It will help to build the capacities of staff and adopt new technologies to lead a transparent and efficient electoral processes.

Speaking at the event, Ireland Ambassador to Ethiopia, H.E Sonja Hyland said,” The Government of Ireland initiated this partnership as this is an extremely crucial time in Ethiopia’s transition to democracy.” “NEBE has an important job over the next year to make Ethiopia ready for free and fair democratic election.”

UNDP Ethiopia Resident Representative, Mr. Turhan Saleh, emphasized, “We are confident that the SEEDS project will provide support to NEBE to deliver free, fair, credible and inclusive elections where all segments of society including Women and IDPs are provided with the opportunity to participate meaningfully.”

Read about UNDP spearheading support to Ethiopia's election