Commission Details National Dialogue Obstacles To Parliament

MPs vote to extend deadline to October 2026

Before lawmakers extended the National Dialogue Commission’s (NDC) mandate by eight months this week, its officials described the challenges hampering their mission to Parliament.

The House of Peoples’ Representatives voted on Wednesday to extend the term of existence of the Commission, granting it an additional eight months to meet its objectives, which include designating representatives for different community and institutional sectors for a dialogue process,  conducting discussions with these representatives, collecting their topic agendas, and finally organizing a nationwide dialogue on those refined agendas and reaching a final consensus.

Lawmakers voted on the extension this week after convening to discuss the Commission’s performance and decide the next steps for the national dialogue initiative. The Commission was established in 2022 with a mandate to carry out the dialogue process within a three-year timeframe.

Last year, MPs voted to grant the Commission an additional six months, giving it until February 2025 to finalize its work. This week, they voted to grant another eight-month extension after commissioners told Parliament that tasks remain outstanding in Tigray, that compiling the input collected from across the country thus far and conducting the national dialogue will also require more time.

The Commission’s new deadline falls in October 2026.

The report detailed the obstacles facing the NDC.

Chief among them is conflict and instability, which have proved a barrier to the Commission across the country. Its officials told lawmakers they were forced to deploy alternative mechanisms to finalize work in parts of the country other than Tigray.

Bias and misinformation, particularly relating to the impartiality and credibility of the Commission, have been an issue, according to this week’s report. The officials presenting it stated a boycott of the national dialogue by opposition political parties has created discord and confusion, while the lack of a suitable platform for the participation of armed groups has negatively affected their work.

In Tigray, the Commission reports it has been unable to conduct groundwork to select representative participants, collect topic agendas from community representatives, and proceed to dialogue.

The report notes the difficulties persist despite talks with regional officials.

Last year, representatives of the Commission held discussions with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on how to initiate dialogue in Tigray. TPLF officials underscored that the national dialogue initiative is not a priority in Tigray.

And while opposition parties in the region have voiced support for the dialogue, the prospect of another conflict in the region makes it unlikely that the national dialogue process will take place in earnest in Tigray in the near future.

The Commission reports it has collected input and conducted preliminary dialogue in 1,234 woredas across all regional states and city administrations, with the exception of 94 woredas in Tigray and four woredas elsewhere.

The report indicates that over the past six months, the Ministry of Finance has disbursed 300 million Birr of the one billion Birr budgeted for the Commission this year.

However, unfinished input collection and compilation work means the Commission has used just 57 million Birr of its budget so far, with the rest earmarked for organizing the nationwide dialogue, according to commissioners.

The delays meant that the Commission returned 200 million Birr of USD 253 million taken from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), but the report indicates the amount will be transferred back to the Commission in light of Parliament’s recent decision.

The Commission called for armed groups in the country to lay down their weapons and participate in the dialogue, and its report details attempts at discussion with former members of Fano and OLF-Shene who surrendered to the federal government last year.

Still, observers argue the national dialogue remains far from its goals.

“The dialogue is a once-in-a-lifetime window. It aims to solve national problems through consensus. However, the credibility, impartiality, and inclusivity of the initiative has been in question from the outset. None of the leading opposition political parties are part of the dialogue. Armed groups are not participating. How can the initiative be successful if the major actors behind the national disagreements are not included?” asked an MP who participated in preliminary discussions organized by the NDC.

He stated that although he had submitted documents detailing inputs and agenda topics for the dialogue from his constituents, the Commission ignored them.

“The Commission did not include the serious topics we presented in our documents. All this makes us doubt whether the initiative is going to lead Ethiopia to a national consensus that can lift the country out of the vicious cycle of conflict and underdevelopment.”