TPLF says the ban on Ethiopia is threatening the Tigray Peace Deal

The most important opposition party of Ethiopia has called on the African Union to mediate with the federal government after the Electoral Council has withdrawn its legal status as a party.

The Liberation Front of the Tigray People (TPLF) said that the step to ban it from every political activity was “dangerous” and was a “serious threat” for the 2022 deal that ended conflicts in the North -Tighray region for two years.

The party, which reigns Tigray and had dominated the entire country for many years, was banned on Wednesday because he had no general meeting.

The decision follows months of political tensions in Tigray and is ahead of national elections that will take place in June next year.

The party led a coalition that organized a coup and Ethiopia ruled until 2018 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took over the power.

It fought against a brutal two -year civil war against the federal government that ended with a truce signed in November 2022 after tens of thousands of people were killed and forced millions from their houses in the north of Ethiopia.

The party runs the interim administration of Tigray that was founded in 2023 as part of the peace agreement, known as the Preat Peace Agreement.

But the party has not been able to perform internal elections because of a split, with two factions that claim to check the party.

The National Election Board of Ethiopia, which supervises the behavior of political parties, decided on Wednesday to formally deny the TPLF “on the basis of the fact that it had not held a general meeting.

But the party has protested against the move and called on the African Union to put “pressure” on the federal government to suspend the enforcement of the ban.

In a letter to the AU, the party said that the prohibition “the TPLF denies a right that it had recovered through the Pretoria agreement and a serious threat before the basis of the peace process”.

It added that the peace agreement stipulated that both parties recognize each other’s legitimacy and that every political issue must be resolved through dialogue.

TPLF -Vice -chairman Ammanuel Assefa told the BBC that the decision of the Electoral Council “could damage the Pretoria agreement” that “will be dangerous”.

“This is not only about TPLF, but also about the undermining of what people have sacrificed,” Ammanuel added.

Delays in the implementation of the conditions of the agreement, including the return of a few million people who are displaced by the war, have fueled the fear of new violence in Tigray.

Several countries, including the US, the UK and the European Union, have warned about the escalating tension and say that there must be “no return to violence”.