March 22, 2026
The Ethiopian Opposition Coalition is calling for their unconditional release
Borkena
Toronto – Coalition for Ethiopian Unity (CEU), a coalition of five major opposition parties in the country, on Saturday reported that the government is its members and party officials in Kefa zone of South West Ethiopia Region.
According to a press release from the party, repression has been intensified in the region since March 18 particularly in Chena district where three party members and officials were arrested.
Aklilu Adelo, Fiqadu Adelo and Demssie Denbo have been in custody at the district’s police station, according to the coalition.
Furthermore, CEU said that they were arrested while undertaking development work. It said that the safety of its members is a priority and called on the government to unconditionally release them.
It appears that they did not appear in court.
CEU is also alleging it is aware that the ruling party is disseminating what it called “dangerous rumor” in a community where the coalition has a social base. The nature of the “dangerous rumor” was unspecified.
Ruling party cadres have recently been mounting a propaganda campaing on social media against some of the party’s members to the coalition as “mercenaries and operatives of Egypt.”
The party says the situation made it difficult for Candidates to undertake election related activities particularly campaigns. Candidates are fearing for their security, according to the coalition. The seventh general election is scheduled to take place in June this year.
Apart from unconditional release of those arrested, the party called for the government to stop repression and what it called character assasination campaign.
It also called for the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia to do its part to overcome the problem in the region.
The Ethiopian government or the zone administration in South West Ethiopia has not yet remarked on the allegation.
Notably, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy has been undertaking what appears to be an informal political campaign in the South, South West and South East of the country under the guise of monitoring/ visiting infrastructure projects.
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