Addis Ababa, May 21 (IANS): The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) announced that it has set June 21 as new date for the country's sixth general elections.

Addressing the media here on Thursday, NEBE spokeswoman Solyana Shimelis said the new electoral timetable was set taking into account the need to finish and transport printing ballots to electoral constituencies across the country, reports Xinhua news agency.

Ethiopia had previously set June 5 as the tentative date to hold the polls.

Shimeles said in addition to parliamentary and regional council elections, a referendum to create a possible 11th regional state will also be held on June 21.

She admitted some electoral constituencies might not conduct polls on June 21, primarily due to security issues.

However, the spokesowman said the NEBE plans to conduct polls on delayed electoral constituencies and announce poll results before the formation of a new government.

More than 31.7 million Ethiopians including more than 1.2 million prospective voters in Ethiopia's capital city, Addis Ababa, have registered to cast their ballots.

Under Ethiopia's parliamentary government system, the Prime Minister who is the highest authority of the land is selected from the party that wins the most seats at federal parliament level and will be sworn in after parliamentary vote.

These elections were initially scheduled for August 29, 2020, but were delayed, supposedly due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Regional and municipal council elections were also planned to be held at the same time around the country.

In May 2020, the sitting House of Representatives voted to postpone the election until 2021.