Esayas Jira is the new president of the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) for the next four years after being elected during the organization’s elective General Assembly on 3rd June 2018 in Afar.
Jira received 60% approval to lead the football body in the second round of voting after garnering 87 votes to floor his closest challenger Taka Assefaw, who managed 58 votes.
Four candidates namely Juneidi Basha, who was the incumbent, his former vice-president Taka Assefaw, Jira, who is also the president of the Ethiopian Premier League side Jimma Aba Jifar FC and Tesfaye Kassaye challenged for the top seat.
Jira, who banked on support of clubs from the larger Oromia and Southern Ethiopia regions, won the first round of voting with 66 votes.
Taka, who was being supported by clubs from Northern Ethiopia and the capital Addis Ababa, came second with 47 votes; Basha was a distant third with 28 votes, while Tesfaye managed a paltry 3 votes.
Since Taka, whose camp had already begun celebrations, did not attain the 51% threshold requirement for an outright win, a re-run was ordered amidst resistance as they threatened a boycott.
It took the intervention of the FIFA representative to get them back to the process after intense lobbying at lunch break.
With the bottom two candidates out of the rematch as per the dictates of the new EFF Electoral Code, Jira floored Taka to succeed Basha, who only served a single four-year-term.
Jira boasts immense experience in the management of the game at club and in government related deployments in mostly Oromia State for over two decades.
He is also the boss of EFF newbies Jimma Aba Jifar, who are currently second the EPL table standings, a position he is expected to relinquish now.
Jira’s election is expected to bring to a close a protracted leadership squabbles in the federation that lasted eight months and saw the polls being postponed four times till FIFA, the world’s football body, stepped in.
Tesfaye accepted the defeat but questioned the process. He also congratulated the new sheriff in town.
“Even though there were so many problems in the electoral process, I accept the defeat with dignity.
“Congratulations to the new president of the EFF and I expect him to bring change in our football.
“I would also like to thanks all Coffee FC supporters and people who were on my side. I learnt so many lessons from the process,” Tesfaye said of Facebook.
