Is it true that EHRCO calls for the immediate end to human rights violations against civilians in Zeyse kebeles?

It has been one month since the election took place and 12 days since the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) announced the official results. Since then, post election claims have continued to circulate, especially in southern Ethiopia, where the elections were more contested than in other parts of the country. For example, the Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (EZEMA) won 27 of its 86 Parliamentary, regional council and city council seats in the South Ethiopia Regional State. One of the contested areas was the Zeyse Special Electoral Constituency in the Gamo Zone. After the preliminary election results were announced, several Facebook posts with post-election claims circulated in the constituency. The Prosperity Party also submitted a complaint to NEBE regarding the Zeyse Special Constituency. After reviewing the case, NEBE responded and rejected the party's complaint.

One of the claims was shared by the Facebook page "ዘህዴድ ዕለታዊ ዜና" which has more than 10k followers. The post claimed that the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) had expressed concern about alleged human rights violations against residents in the Zeyse kebeles of the South Ethiopia Regional State and called on the government to stop the abuses. The post also included what it claimed was an official statement from EHRCO.

Screenshot of the Facebook page "ዘህዴድ ዕለታዊ ዜና" on July 3, 2026

In this statement, EHRCO recalled its previous statement released in February regarding the conflict and urged the federal and regional governments to take action. The statement also mentioned that the conflict continued after the election and claimed that 10 people were killed between June 15 and June 18.

To verify the claim, the CARD Fact-Checking Team reviewed the statement published on the official Facebook page of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) and contacted officials from EHRCO to confirm whether it was officially issued. Both the statement on EHRCO's official Facebook page and the confirmation from the officials verified that the statement was authentic and officially issued by EHRCO. In the statement, EHRCO expressed concern over alleged human rights violations against civilians in the Zeyse kebeles and called on the government to take urgent measures.

The Facebook page "ዘህዴድ ዕለታዊ ዜና" has shared several claims about Zeyse. One of the claims was published after the election, when conflict occurred in the Zeyse woreda related to the election and demands for special woreda status. Some of the claims were misleading, and CARD had previously debunked them.