CECOE
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The Coalition of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations for Elections (CECOE) is an Ethiopian civil society coalition involved in domestic election observation. The coalition brings together civil society organizations to coordinate election observation activities in Ethiopia.
Election observation
2021 general election
In its report on Ethiopia's 2021 general election, the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute described CECOE as an umbrella organization comprising approximately 175 civil society organizations and consortia from across Ethiopia. The report stated that CECOE recruited and deployed more than 100 long-term observers during the electoral process and deployed more than 2,000 trained and accredited observers for the election held on 21 June 2021.
The report also documented CECOE's use of a national data centre to collect observer reports through coded text messages. CECOE issued reports on voter registration, polling-station preparations, and the voting and counting processes.
In May 2021, The Reporter reported that CECOE planned to deploy more than 3,000 observers for the general election. The newspaper reported that the coalition intended to cover at least 5,000 polling stations and that delays in receiving accreditation credentials had affected its preparations.
2026 general election
During preparations for Ethiopia's 2026 general election, CECOE conducted observation of the voter-registration process. In May 2026, The Reporter reported that the coalition had deployed 522 long-term observers to nearly 4,400 voter-registration centres across the country, excluding the Tigray region. The newspaper's report covered concerns raised by CECOE about digital registration-system failures, accessibility for persons with disabilities, and security incidents affecting the registration process.
In its preliminary report on the 1 June 2026 general election, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) stated that CECOE had deployed a nationwide domestic election-observation mission and operated a centralized situation room to receive, verify, and analyse information from field observers.
The African Union Election Observation Mission's preliminary statement also discussed CECOE's role in the election. In its section on civil society participation, the mission identified CECOE as a coalition comprising several civil society organizations and reported that it had deployed approximately 3,500 observers across the country on election day.
References
- 1 2 3 Ethiopia June 21, 2021 National Elections Report (PDF) (Report). National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute. 2021.
- ↑ Sahlu, Sisay (22 May 2021). "CSO Consortium to deploy 3000 election observers". The Reporter.
- ↑ Getachew, Bruck (7 May 2026). "Coalition Spotlights Security Failures, Accessibility Shortcomings in Voter Registration Process". The Reporter.
- ↑ IGAD Election Observation Mission to the 7th General Election of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Held on Monday 1 June 2026: Preliminary Report (Report). Intergovernmental Authority on Development. 3 June 2026.
- ↑ Preliminary Statement: African Union Election Observation Mission to the 21 June 2021 General Elections in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDF) (Report). African Union. 23 June 2021.