Ethiopia's National Dialogue Backs Constitutional Shift to Executive Presidency

Inside a plenary hall in Addis Ababa, after 38 days of intensive deliberations, approximately 4,000 delegates to Ethiopia's National Dialogue Assembly concluded their primary sessions on August 22, 2026, by overwhelmingly endorsing a proposal to abolish the office of the prime minister. The assembly recommended replacing the country's parliamentary framework with a new "executive presidency" that combines the roles of head of state and head of government, fundamentally altering the distribution of power in Africa's second-most populous nation.[1][2][3]

Under Ethiopia’s existing 1995 constitution, executive authority is exercised by the prime minister and the cabinet, who answer directly to parliament, while the presidency remains a largely ceremonial role. The dialogue's recommendation would dismantle this three-decade-old structure, allowing the parliament to select a single executive president who wields comprehensive state authority. The proposal is expected to be formally submitted to lawmakers when the House of Peoples' Representatives reconvenes for its new legislative session in October, setting the stage for a sweeping constitutional overhaul.[1][2][4]

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has governed the Horn of Africa nation of 130 million people since 2018, is widely anticipated to assume the new office if the constitutional changes are enacted by the legislature. His ruling Prosperity Party secured another landslide victory in the June 2026 elections, granting it the absolute legislative dominance required to select the president under the proposed system. While absent from the dialogue proceedings itself, Abiy reportedly addressed Prosperity Party members in July, actively advocating for a two-term limit for the country's leader as part of the broader reform package.[1][2][4]

Supporters of the structural shift argue that an executive presidency will establish a more unified national leadership capable of transcending Ethiopia's deep-seated ethnic divisions and regional fragmentation. Tiglu Melese, secretary-general of the parliament's upper house, stated that the change would create "a more unified country to overcome the challenges the country currently faces." Proponents contend that a president representing the entire nation, rather than a prime minister elected from a specific regional constituency like Oromia, would strengthen the central government, reduce ethnic mobilization, and streamline executive decision-making during national crises.[2][3]

The proposed centralization of authority has drawn sharp warnings from political analysts and opposition figures, who argue the reform is designed primarily to consolidate Abiy's personal control over the state apparatus. Political analyst Befekadu Hailu noted that the overhaul would "effectively allow the current prime minister to assume the executive presidency while effectively concentrating power in a single individual." Critics have drawn direct parallels to Turkey's 2014 constitutional transition, which similarly elevated the prime minister to a newly created executive presidency, bypassing traditional parliamentary checks and balances.[1][2]

The constitutional debate unfolds against a backdrop of persistent regional instability and fractured national security. Armed conflicts remain active in the populous states of Oromia and Amhara, alongside lingering tensions following the 2020–2022 civil war in the northern Tigray region, which resulted in an estimated 600,000 deaths. Key opposition parties boycotted the National Dialogue entirely, and armed groups were excluded from the proceedings. Merera Gudina, chairman of the Caucus of Opposition Parties, criticized the assembly's focus, stating it "cannot ensure the two greatest needs of the country: durable peace and stability, and democratic governance."[2]

Beyond the executive branch, the dialogue's recommendations touch on the core of Ethiopia's multinational federal model, which has defined the state's political identity since the fall of the Derg. Delegates proposed reducing state funding for ethnic-based political parties in favor of organizations with a broader national focus. If accompanied by restrictions on regional autonomy, the transition to a presidential system would redefine the relationship between Addis Ababa and the regional states, marking the most consequential alteration to Ethiopia's political architecture and resource distribution in three decades.[1][2][4]

The trajectory of the proposed reforms now rests entirely with the Prosperity Party-dominated parliament, which holds the mandate to translate the assembly's recommendations into constitutional law. The legislative body will determine the specific transition provisions, including whether previous service as prime minister would count toward the proposed six-year, two-term presidential limit. Until those legal parameters are finalized and voted upon, the exact mechanics of how executive power will be transferred and constrained remain the defining question of Ethiopia's next political era.[4]