"I increasingly feel that the national dialogue process has been hijacked by the government." Commissioner
Posted: 21 Jul 2026, 04:49
t has been reported that the eight agenda items selected for the so-called "𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲" were set aside, and that discussions were instead conducted only on agenda items chosen by the government.
A senior official of the National Dialogue Commission, who requested anonymity, told 𝘽𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙖 𝙍𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧 in a private interview:
"After the conference began, we no longer knew what was happening. We are not in a position where we can boldly intervene or change decisions."
The official said that, instead of deliberating on agenda items collected from the public, the conference was limited to agenda items selected by the government.
They added:
"I increasingly feel that the national dialogue process has been hijacked by the government."
The official further explained:
"Since July 15, 2026, the national dialogue has been out of the Commission's hands."
They continued:
"We had hoped that once the process was officially launched in the presence of the Prime Minister, oversight and interference would decrease. Instead, the pressure has intensified, placing the Commission in a very difficult situation."
The official also stated that although the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission had decided to make the conference open to all media outlets, an order from higher authorities allowed entry only to selected media organizations considered close to the government.
Recalling that the public had previously expressed doubts about the Commission's work, the official warned that these developments could further undermine the credibility of the national dialogue process.
Nevertheless, they said the commissioners had continued to do everything they could to maintain as much transparency as possible throughout the process.
A senior official of the National Dialogue Commission, who requested anonymity, told 𝘽𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙖 𝙍𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧 in a private interview:
"After the conference began, we no longer knew what was happening. We are not in a position where we can boldly intervene or change decisions."
The official said that, instead of deliberating on agenda items collected from the public, the conference was limited to agenda items selected by the government.
They added:
"I increasingly feel that the national dialogue process has been hijacked by the government."
The official further explained:
"Since July 15, 2026, the national dialogue has been out of the Commission's hands."
They continued:
"We had hoped that once the process was officially launched in the presence of the Prime Minister, oversight and interference would decrease. Instead, the pressure has intensified, placing the Commission in a very difficult situation."
The official also stated that although the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission had decided to make the conference open to all media outlets, an order from higher authorities allowed entry only to selected media organizations considered close to the government.
Recalling that the public had previously expressed doubts about the Commission's work, the official warned that these developments could further undermine the credibility of the national dialogue process.
Nevertheless, they said the commissioners had continued to do everything they could to maintain as much transparency as possible throughout the process.