The Defining Phase

By Yordanos D.

Ethiopia is entering a carefully constructed phase of political renewal as the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission (ENDC) moves decisively into the next stage. What began as an answer to national fracture is now taking shape as an enduring framework for political reconciliation, designed to transform decades of tension into a shared and forward-looking national vision.

 With the national dialogue conference scheduled for early 2026, the dialogue is increasingly viewed not as a lasting intervention for a negotiated state. It reflects a shift toward governance shaped by collective consent rather than coercion, and toward stability built through dialogue rather than force.

Established under Proclamation No. 1265/2021, the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission represents the country’s first large-scale, domestically driven mechanism for managing structural grievances through consultation, positioning dialogue as a permanent feature of statecraft.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has repeatedly framed the dialogue as a historic turning point. Addressing the House of People's Representatives (HPR), he noted that “war and uprisings are ghosts of an incomplete past. The defeated carry future conflict, and the victor lives forever defending conquest”. He emphasized that dialogue alone offers a path where no group is condemned to permanent loss, adding that it replaces a fragile culture of domination with a durable system of mutual understanding.

Ethiopia’s long standing political and social challenges cannot indeed be resolved through force, but only through sustained consultation and negotiated solutions. In this sense, the dialogue is presented not as a political option but as a historical necessity.

The Decisive Phase

The Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission has now moved beyond institutional setup into what officials describe as its most consequential phase. Participant selection has been completed across eleven regions and two city administrations; and the Commission is consolidating a vast body of public input into a unified national framework.

Chief Commissioner Professor Mesfin Araya has consistently stressed that the process is not finite. “A national dialogue is not an event to be concluded but a social contract that must be renewed again and again.” He underlined that Ethiopia is not merely holding discussions, but re-learning the practice of coexistence after years of political rupture.

This approach has shaped engagement with the Ethiopian diaspora. Permanent consultation hubs have been established in major cities, including Washington DC and Stockholm. Speaking at the 2025 Washington Forum, the Chief Commissioner reminded participants that while Ethiopia is an ancient civilization, democracy is a skill acquired through cooperation. He noted that enduring civilizations advanced by talking until solutions emerged, not by silencing dissent.

The most demanding test of the dialogue lies in the inclusion of armed groups and political holdouts. Selamawit Bekele (PhD) of Addis Ababa University argues that legitimacy does not depend on perfect consensus. Instead, it comes from the willingness to include even the most difficult voices as “the friction created by diverse perspectives is not a weakness. It is the force that forges a stronger national foundation”.

Alongside the Commission’s efforts, the government has renewed the oft-repeated calls for peace and negotiation, urging political parties and armed groups to pursue their objectives through dialogue. Several groups have responded positively and entered peaceful negotiations, thus strengthening the credibility of the national process.

With the National Dialogue Conference approaching, attention is shifting from deliberations to finalization. Recommendations that emerge at this phase are expected to shape Ethiopia’s legislative agenda.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has issued a clear warning about the cost of failure. “If dialogue ends as rhetoric alone, we will have failed those who come after us. Success will not be measured by the beauty of words, but by the strength of the institutions built upon them.” 

Hence, the 2026 National Dialogue Conference represents more than a political exercise for Ethiopia. It is an investment in national survival and democratic continuity, signaling a deliberate move toward a more stable, inclusive and prosperous future.