Ethiopia National Dialogue Group Agrees on Presidential System

August 13, 2026
By Mintesinot Nigussie

Participants in Ethiopia’s ongoing National Dialogue have reached agreement at recommendation level on replacing the current parliamentary executive arrangement with a presidential system, according to participants in one of the dialogue’s 500-member groups.

The proposal would retain a parliamentary legislature but make an elected president the country’s head of government and state, combining powers currently divided between the president and prime minister. The recommendation would therefore remove the office of prime minister.

The discussions form part of the National Dialogue Conference being facilitated by the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission, which has organised participants into groups to consolidate proposals on the eight agenda items under consideration. The Commission says the conference has progressed to the strategic group deliberation stage.

Participants said the group also reached recommendation-level consensus on a six-year presidential term, with a limit of two terms. Regional leaders would follow a similar term arrangement to the proposed federal system.

The recommendations include establishing a constitutional interpretation court and an independent "Multinational Unity Commission" to address unresolved questions concerning identity and self-administration. A specialised team of experts would support the proposed commission in addressing such issues.

The group also recommended amending Article 39 of the Constitution, which grants nations, nationalities and peoples the right to self-determination, including secession. Under the proposal, the reference to the right "up to secession" would be removed.

Another proposed change would replace the existing terminology referring to "nations, nationalities and peoples" with "nationality". Participants also recommended changing the constitutional preamble from "We, the Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia" to "Multinational Ethiopia".

The recommendations remain subject to the wider National Dialogue process and are not constitutional amendments at this stage. The Commission’s mandate is to conduct national dialogue and present the resulting recommendations to the relevant bodies.

Participants said consensus had not been reached on every issue, with some disagreements and unresolved matters carried forward for further deliberation.

Source: FSX Business News