Ethiopia Election Budget Tops 20 Billion Birr as External Funding Declines

Mintesinot Niggusie

Ethiopia’s electoral authority has said the cost of administering the upcoming national elections has risen above 20 billion birr, after lower-than-expected donor contributions forced the government to shoulder a larger share of financing.

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia said it had initially projected 15 billion birr for the 2018 Ethiopian fiscal year election process. However, the budget was later revised down to 10.8 billion birr on the assumption that development partners would provide significant support, Chairperson National Electoral Board of Ethiopia Melatwork Hailu told a parliamentary committee, as reported by one of Ethiopia’s established private newspapers, The Reporter.

She said that expectation had not materialised, with donor inflows remaining limited compared with earlier years. As a result, most of the election financing has been covered through government resources, she added. To address the shortfall, the board has requested an additional 9.7 billion birr, pushing total election-related expenditure beyond the 20 billion birr threshold.

Hailu said partner funding for the electoral process has declined compared with 2022 and 2023. She noted that a United Nations-managed donor fund, which aggregates contributions from 16 countries, currently reflects participation from only about seven contributors.

The funding gap has affected operational planning, including logistics for election materials, transportation of equipment from polling stations, and the return of documents to central offices after voting. Lawmakers also questioned the budget assumptions for areas where elections may not be held due to security concerns or administrative disputes. In response, the chairperson said such constituencies remain part of the national electoral framework and are not treated as separate budget lines, but are instead incorporated into the broader election programme.

She added that some constituencies had already been identified in advance as unlikely to hold voting on election day, while remaining within the scope of the seventh national election.