Ethiopia’s upper house of parliament has agreed to extend the prime minister and government’s term in office beyond October because elections have been delayed.
Polls were due to be held in August - the first since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 - but officials have postponed them because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The country’s nine regional governments have also had their terms extended in a binding ruling by the House of Federation.
It suggested that after the pandemic was no longer considered a threat to the public, elections be held within nine months to a year.
The decision comes two days after the speaker of the upper house, Keriya Ibrahim, announced her resignation, accusing the government of making unconstitutional attempts to stay in power.
During its session on Wednesday, the House of Federation also postponed a national census, which was due to be held this year - the third time it has been delayed.
