Information on voting requirements for the May 1995 and subsequent elections, on whether women can vote, on the minimum age for voting and whether identification documents are required [ETH24529.E]

The following information on voter registration was received by fax on 18 July 1996 from the Ethiopian embassy in Ottawa.

Women are allowed to vote. To be eligible to vote one must be a resident of a kebele and be at least 18 years old. No identification card is necessary to vote, but registered voters receive a card, without a photo, which is required to cast a ballot. At the time of registration the voter's ethnicity is also recorded.

In a telephone interview on 12 August 1996, an official at the Ethiopian embassy stated that when a person registers to vote, her or his name is checked against the kebele's list of residents. Photo identification documents are not required to register to vote (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References


Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ottawa. 12 August 1996. Telephone interview with official.

_____. 18 July 1996. Fax received by the DIRB.