By Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — Citizens who served as election workers during Ethiopia’s seventh general election have raised serious complaints against the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), alleging that the institution has withheld over half of their contractual payments, local media outlet Tikvah Ethiopia reported.
According to the poll workers, the board has failed to disburse the remaining 60 percent payment balance alongside four days of pre-deployment allowances stipulated in their employment contracts.
In addition to delayed funds, election workers reported that when the board released an initial 40 percent payment installment, officials arbitrarily reduced the number of calculated working days without explanation.
Complainants from the Amhara region, particularly within the North Wollo Zone, noted that payments fell drastically short of their agreed terms: Site executives received compensation calculated for 39 days instead of the contracted 54 days, while district constituency executives received initial calculations for 79 days instead of the agreed 169 days. The source did not specify whether similar complaints were made from other parts of the country where the election was conducted.
“We are election executives who worked with integrity, dedication, and full responsibility. We properly fulfilled our national duty, but we have not yet received the payment we deserve,” election staff stated in a collective complaint.
The workers recalled that election officials initially pledged to settle all remaining balances between July 11 and July 15, 2026. However, the deadline passed without any disbursements or formal communications from the board.
“Even after July 18 passed, no payment was made,” workers emphasized. “This situation is eroding our trust in the Election Board.”
The persistent delays have created financial distress for poll workers and their families, who spent weeks on the front lines executing election logistics across various administrative regions.
The complainants called on the Election Board and relevant authorities to urgently resolve the payment discrepancies, release the outstanding 60 percent balance, and provide a transparent explanation for the reduced workday calculations.
The National Election Board has not yet issued an official statement responding to the allegations.
In May 2026, the Board requested an additional 10 billion Ethiopian birr to carry out the remaining phases of the electoral process. Earlier reports indicated that the board spent over 20 billion birr preparing for the national vote. The election did not take place in the Tigray region and large parts of the Amhara region, among other areas, due to ongoing conflict situations.
According to sources, over 200,000 Election workers were employed during the 7th General Election. 47 political parties registered to compete and over 50.4 million voters, the board claimed, were registered to vote.
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The board may be having financial crunch to fulfill its expectation. I hope that will be solved and everyone will be happy.