National Congress of Great Tigray

National Congress of Great Tigray
AbbreviationBaytona
FoundedSeptember 2020
IdeologyTigrayan nationalism
National affiliationSAWET
TIP

The National Congress of Great Tigray (Tigrinya: ብሄራዊ ባይቶ ዓባይ ትግራይ) or Baytona (Tigrinya: ባይቶና) is a political party in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia.[1][2]

Policies

In September 2020, prior to the 2020 Tigray regional election held that month, Baytona aimed at increased autonomy for Tigray Region, to "secure its territorial integrity, promote its language, and preserve its heritage."[2] Baytona favoured Ethiopia becoming a confederation of independent states.[3]

September 2020 election

Baytona won 20,839 votes out of the 2,633,848 votes cast, winning no seats in the September 2020 election.[4] The Tigray Regional Council resulting from the election established a mechanism for minority parties to propose agendas and bills, present motions, propose policy and nominate appointees. Baytona was allotted seven non-voting seats and one voting seat.[1]

Tigray War

In January 2021, during the Tigray War, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) asked Baytona for an "explanation about [its] activities" before taking a possible decision on deregistering the party in relation to its participation in the September 2020 Tigray election, that NEBE considered illegal.[5]

On 2 February 2021, Baytona, together with Tigray Independence Party and Salsay Weyane Tigray, estimated there to have been 52,000 civilian casualties of the Tigray War.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b "Debretsion faces rough road ahead as Tigray State President". Addis Fortune. 2020-09-24. Archived from the original on 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  2. ^ a b Gebremedhin, Desta (2020-09-05). "Why there are fears that Ethiopia could break up". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2020-09-05. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  3. ^ "Ethiopia: Further polarisation as Tigray holds 'illegal' election". Africa Practice. 2020-09-15. Archived from the original on 2021-02-21. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  4. ^ "የትግረይ ምርጫ፡ በትግራይ ክልላዊ ምርጫ ህወሓት ማሸነፉ ተገለፀ". BBC News (in Amharic). 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-11-22. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  5. ^ "NEBE cancels registration of TPLF". Fana Broadcasting Corporate. 2021-01-18. Archived from the original on 2021-02-21. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  6. ^ "A Joint Press Release by Tigray Independence Party (TIP), Salsay Weyane Tigray (SAWET), and National Congress of Great Tigray (Baytona) on the Current Situation in Tigray". Eritrea Hub. 2021-02-02. Archived from the original on 2021-02-02. Retrieved 2021-02-02.