Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the former ruling party of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, has strongly condemned its recent deregistration by Ethiopia’s National Election Board, warning that the move endangers the 2022 Pretoria Peace Agreement that brought an end to two years of devastating civil war.
The Election Board announced in May 2025 that the TPLF had been formally stripped of its legal status, citing its failure to convene a mandatory general assembly as required by Ethiopian electoral law. This legal deregistration means the TPLF can no longer operate as a recognized political party in Ethiopia a decision the TPLF says directly undermines the terms of the Pretoria Agreement, which recognized the party as a legitimate stakeholder in the peace process and allowed for its reintegration into the country’s political framework.
In a letter sent to the African Union, which brokered the 2022 peace accord, the TPLF declared that the ban violates the spirit and letter of the agreement. “This action not only denies the TPLF a right it reclaimed through the Pretoria Agreement, but it also undermines the fragile peace that Ethiopia has worked so hard to build,” the party said.
TPLF deputy chairman Ammanuel Assefa further warned that the decision could “damage the Pretoria agreement” and have far-reaching consequences. “This is going to be dangerous. It sends a message that peace deals in Ethiopia are not worth the paper they are written on,” he said.
The timing of the ban adds to political instability in Tigray, which is already grappling with internal divisions. The TPLF is experiencing a leadership rift between its long-time chairman Debretsion Gebremichael and former interim regional president Getachew Reda. In late 2024, Debretsion’s faction removed Getachew from power in what has been described by some observers as a political coup within the party. These divisions have weakened the party’s internal cohesion and hampered post-conflict governance in the Tigray region.
The Ethiopian federal government has so far defended the deregistration as a technical legal matter, not a political maneuver. However, critics argue that in the context of a fragile peace process, the move sends a troubling signal about the government’s commitment to political reconciliation.
The Pretoria Agreement, signed in November 2022, ended a war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions. The deal promised the disarmament of TPLF forces, the restoration of humanitarian aid, the reintegration of Tigray into the federal framework, and a path to political normalization. Since then, progress has been slow and uneven, with ongoing reports of human rights abuses, incomplete disarmament, and delayed reconstruction.
The ban on the TPLF now threatens to unravel much of this progress, particularly as Ethiopia moves toward national elections in 2026. Excluding the TPLF from the electoral process, many argue, will not only diminish the credibility of the upcoming elections but also risks reigniting tensions in Tigray, where many residents still view the party as their primary political voice.
International observers, including the African Union and United Nations, are watching closely. There are growing calls for mediation to resolve the dispute and preserve the gains made since the Pretoria Agreement. Regional experts warn that unless the federal government and the TPLF find a way to resolve the impasse, Ethiopia’s path toward national healing and democratic reform could be derailed.
As the situation unfolds, the fate of the TPLF is emerging as a litmus test for Ethiopia’s commitment to genuine peace and inclusive governance. Whether the Pretoria Agreement can withstand this political challenge remains uncertain but its success or failure may determine the future stability of the Horn of Africa’s second-most populous country.
