“Great patriotic fervour” expected for elections

Although there has been no official announcement about polling in areas affected by the new offensive, voting is likely to be postponed. Diplomatic sources told IRIN that in the previous national elections the government “had a fairly flexible approach to polling day” with voting going on for five days in some areas. The areas affected by fighting are mainly in Tigray, the constituency dominated by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) which heads the EPRDF (Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front) government. “It may even rally a few who otherwise wouldn’t have bothered to vote” said one observer, who noted that the effect of the Ethiopian-launched offensive would probably inject “great patriotic fervor” into Sunday’s elections.