TPLF Warns Deregistration Threatens Ethiopia’s Peace Process

Edition: Widad WAHBI

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a historically dominant force in Ethiopian politics, has described its recent deregistration as a political party as a “serious threat” to the fragile peace process in the country. In a statement released Thursday, the TPLF denounced the move as “unilateral” and warned of its potential impact on national stability.

The decision, made Wednesday by the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), comes nearly two years after a peace deal ended a brutal two-year conflict between federal forces and the TPLF in northern Ethiopia. The war, which began in late 2020, claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions.

The electoral commission cited the TPLF’s “failures” in meeting party registration standards as the reason for the cancellation, though it provided little public detail.

In a letter addressed to the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, the TPLF called on the AU to apply pressure on the Ethiopian government to reverse the decision. It warned that sidelining the TPLF risks undermining the Pretoria peace agreement signed in November 2022 and jeopardizing ongoing national reconciliation efforts.

Observers fear that the deregistration of the TPLF—still influential in Tigray—could fuel further political tensions at a time when Ethiopia continues to navigate a delicate post-conflict transition.