The Ethiopia Football Federation (EFF) has elected Esayas Jira as its new president after a vote on Sunday.
The 46-year-old Jira, who is current general manager of Jimma Aba Bunna FC secured 87 from the 145 available in a second round of voting.
His main rival Teka Asfaw received 58 votes ending a lengthy eight months debacle at EFF as the general assembly was on several occasions rescheduled due to dispute in installing an electoral committee.
However, the man who was believed to be the cause of the postponements, Ashebir Woldegiorgis, withdrew his candidacy.
The high-profile election remained a battle between Junedin Basha from the Dire Dawa City Administration, Esayas Jira, Tesfaye Kassaye, and Teka Asfaw who is former federation deputy from the Amhara Regional State.
In the first round of the elections Jira earned 66 votes, Taka Assefaw who relied on support from northern Ethiopia and capital city Addis-Ababa delegates gathered 47 votes, Juneidi Basha got only 28 votes while the rest 3 votes went to Tesfaye Kassaye.
Therefore the electoral commission chair declared Jira the winner but celebrations stayed only for few minutes.
FIFA officials present dismissed the result saying a winner should earn at least 50+1 % of the total votes as Jira’s total count was 46 per cent of the total.
In the re-run later after lunch break, Jira secured a landslide victory over Asfaw as Kahesaye and Basha pulled out.
The new football boss who once served as EFF Vice-President is expected to solve numerous problems in the federation, bring promised changes and create a good atmosphere for modern football in the country in the coming four years.
The Ethiopian Football Federation is one of the founding members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 1957 along with Egypt, Sudan and South Africa but due to its Apartheid policy South Africa was ousted from CAF same year but was later accepted back.
The East African nation is the only one from CECAFA region that has ever won an Africa Cup of Nations title, a fate they achieved in 1962 after extra time in the final against Egypt.
