The Federal High Court has lifted the injunction it had previously imposed on the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), which had barred the Board from implementing a decision communicated by the House of Federation regarding five contested constituencies disputed between the Amhara and Tigray regional states.
The injunction had been issued after Simeret Party filed a lawsuit against the Election Board following the Board's public acknowledgment of the House of Federation's decision.
The letter sent by the House of Federation to the Election Board indicated that the five constituencies--whose administrative status has been contested between the Amhara and Tigray regional governments--should conduct elections independently and directly for representation in the House of Peoples' Representatives, outside the jurisdiction of the Tigray regional government, until the territorial dispute is resolved.
However, the plaintiff, Simeret Party, announced on March 11, 2026, that it had withdrawn the lawsuit it filed before the First Electoral Bench of the Federal High Court.
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The party said it decided to withdraw the case after confirming that the letter sent from the House of Federation to the Election Board had not been approved by the Council's plenary session, but was instead issued solely by the Speaker of the House.
According to the party, a decision can only be considered legally binding if it is discussed and approved by members during a plenary session and adopted through a vote.
"A decision that can be considered legally valid by the Council is one that is discussed by its members in a plenary session, included on the agenda, and approved through a vote. The letter issued by the Speaker does not represent the Council's legal position and was not known to the members of the Council," the party stated.
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The party said that continuing the legal dispute based on a document lacking a proper legal foundation would waste both the court's valuable time and public resources, which is why it decided to withdraw the case.
Following the withdrawal of the lawsuit on March 11, 2026, the Federal High Court today lifted the injunction it had imposed on the Election Board.
