2023 South Ethiopia Region referendum

On 6 February 2023 a referendum was held in the Wolayita, Gamo, Gofa, South Omo, Gedeo, and Konso Zones, as well as the Dirashe, Amaro, Burji, Ale, and Basketo special woredas of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNP) of Ethiopia, on whether the included areas should leave SNNP and form their own Region.

6 February 2023
Do you support the organisation of the six zones (Konso, Wolayita, South Omo, Gamo, Gedeo, Gofa) and the special woredas (Burji, Basketo, Ale, Amaro, Dirashe) into one common region?

This referendum follows two previous referendums from 2019 and 2021 in other areas of the then-SNNP, both of which resulted in votes to split off into new regions.

The referendum was tentatively approved, although Wolayita Zone must rehold voting after it was found that irregularities were present. The other zones and woredas involved passed resolutions to split off in July 2023, and this was conveyed to the national House of Federation by the SNNP government. The new region's name was set as the Southern Ethiopia Region.

Background

The Constitution of Ethiopia grants every ethnic group the right to have their own region in Ethiopia. The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNP) previously contained 56 ethnic groups. The ascension of prime minister Abiy Ahmed in 2018, along with his promises for reforms, reignited demands for autonomy by some ethnic groups in SNNP.[1][2] The 2019 Sidama Region referendum saw the Sidama Region split off from the SNNP. A similar referendum in 2021 saw 5 zones and 1 special woreda leave the SNNP and form the new South West Region.[3]

Map of Ethiopia highlighting the SNNP
The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNP) prior to the 2023 referendum, not including territory that split off following the 2019 Sidama Region referendum and the 2021 South West Region referendum

At the end of July 2022, 10 zones and 6 special woredas in SNNP passed resolutions aiming to split off two new states from what remained of the SNNP. These resolutions were greeted positively by the SNNP government.[4] (There were reports that the Gurage Zone was also involved, however it wished to continue with a proposal it had submitted on 26 November 2018 to become its own region.[5])

On 5 August, the SNNP Council submitted the requests to the House of Federation. The Speaker of the House of Federation noted that the House would come to a quick decision,[6] and tasked the National Election Board of Ethiopia with looking into carrying out the referendums.[7] Official approval of the referendum by the House of Federation for the proposal given by from 6 zones and 5 special woredas occurred on 18 August. Specifically, this was for the Wolayita, Gamo, Gofa, South Omo, Gedeo, and Konso Zones, as well as the Dirashe, Amaro, Burji, Ale, and Basketo special woredas. (The simultaneous request, from the Hadiya, Halaba, Kembata Tembaro, and Silte Zones, and the Yem Special Woreda request has not yet been acted upon.)[8] The House of Federation requested the referendum, for a new South Ethiopia Region, be held within three months.[9]

In September the National Election Board submitted a budget request to the House of Peoples' Representatives.[7]

On 10 October the National Election Board announced that a referendum would be held in parts of Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region on 6 February, targeting results to be released on 15 February.[3] Campaigning began on 17 October, and voter registration ran for two weeks beginning on 20 December.[10] By 9 January, 2,934,143 voters had registered, and registration for 24 polling stations was extended.[11]

Logistics

The National Election Board expected to hire 18,885 people, and requested 541,270,104.82 birr to carry out the referendum.[3] 410.1 million birr was given.[12] 5,200 election observers from Ethiopia and elsewhere were expected.[11]

3,771 polling stations were set up, divided into 31 groups.[13] These are expected to see around 3 million voters.[12] Each polling station is expected to release its results over the five days following the referendum.[10] To assist those with reading difficulties, each option on the referendum was also represented by an easily identifiable symbol: a white dove for a vote in favor of a new region, and a hut for a vote against.

Results

Full results were initially expected on 15 February,[3][14] and partial results were released on 18 February.[15] The National Election Board announced on 20 February that a majority had voted to secede, although the official results from the Wolayita Zone were still pending as the board stated a variety of irregularities occurred before and during the vote. These irregularities are possibly due to a longstanding campaign for Wolayita to become a region on its own. Of the areas with approved results, the largest opposition came from the Gedeo zone.[16]

ChoiceVotes%
For1,646,42595.42
Against78,9704.58
Total1,725,395100.00
Valid votes1,725,39597.72
Invalid/blank votes40,2512.28
Total votes1,765,646100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,951,65690.47
Source: NEBE (summary). Excludes Wolayita.

Result by subdivision
Subdivision For % Against % Invalid Registered voters Turnout %
Wolayita Zone
Konso Zone 101,114 98.17 1,890 1.83 2,180 111,561 94.28
South Omo Zone 256,159 97.95 5,364 2.05 5,273 297,948 89.54
Gamo Zone 583,757 98.37 9,682 1.63 8,141 630,340 95.44
Gedeo Zone 241,695 83.79 46,749 16.21 11,941 372,754 80.59
Gofa Zone 243,327 95.19 12,306 4.81 8,471 289,307 91.29
Burji special woreda 28,460 97.38 765 2.62 676 36,123 82.78
Basketo special woreda 27,674 96.07 1,133 3.93 1,098 32,639 91.62
Ale special woreda 22,395 98.19 412 1.81 710 29,950 78.52
Amaro special woreda 90,377 99.76 216 0.24 598 94,233 96.77
Dirashe special woreda 51,467 99.13 453 0.87 1,163 56,801 93.45

References
  1. Susan Houlton (18 July 2019). "Ethiopia delays referendum on new independent region". DW. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  2. "Vote on breakaway region as Ethiopia faces tests to unity". France 24. 28 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  3. "News: Electoral Board to hold Southern region referendum in February next year". Addis Standard. 12 October 2022. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  4. "News: Ten zones, six special woredas in Ethiopia's Southern state undergo major restructuring to create two more regional states". Addis Standard. 2 August 2022. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  5. "News update: Zonal restructure not agenda for Gurage Zone Council, Zone awaits House of Federation decision on request for own region". Addis Standard. 3 August 2022. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  6. "News: SNNP Council submits zonal, special woredas restructuring to House of Federation; Bu'i city in Gurage zone establishes command post". Addis Standard. 5 August 2022. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  7. "News: Electoral Board requests more than 541 m birr budget to hold referendum in Southern state". Addis Standard. 21 September 2022. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  8. "#Breaking: Six zones and five special woredas to hold a referendum". Addis Standard. 18 August 2022. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  9. "House Orders Holding of Referendum for Establishment of New Region in SNNP". ENA. 18 August 2022. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  10. "Voting Date Set for Referendum to Form New Region in Ethiopia". Ethiopian Monitor. 13 October 2022. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  11. "Over 2.9m Voters Registered for Referendum in SNNPR". Ethiopian Monitor. 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  12. "News: Over three million people expected to vote in referendum to form Ethiopia's 12th regional state". Addis Standard. 21 October 2022. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  13. "Referendum Starts in Six Zones, Five Special Districts in Southern Ethiopia". ENA. 6 February 2023. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  14. "Referendum Result | National Election Board of Ethiopia". Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  15. "የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ምርጫ ቦርድ በደ/ብ/ብ/ሕ ክልላዊ መንግሥት ሥር በሚገኙ ስድስት ዞኖች (በኮንሶ፣ በደቡብ ኦሞ፣ በወላይታ፣ በጋሞ፣ በጌዴኦ፣ በጎፋ) እና አምስት ልዩ ወረዳዎች (በቡርጂ፣ በባስኬቶ፣ በአሌ፣ በአማሮ፣ በዲራሼ) ያካሄደውን የሕዝበ ውሣኔ ውጤት ስለማሳወቅ". NEBE (in Amharic). 18 February 2023. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  16. "News: NEBE reports majority vote in favor of new region in recent referendum, irregularities in Wolaita zone". Addis Standard. 21 February 2023. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
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