Opposition Party Denounces Assembly as Partisan Exercise Conducted Amid Expanding War, Urging New Impartial Reconciliation Framework
By Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) has formally rejected the legitimacy of the National Dialogue Assembly, characterizing the entire initiative as a partisan proxy of the ruling Prosperity Party that lacks freedom, independence, and broad-based credibility.
In an official statement reviewed by Borkena, the opposition party declared that it will not recognize the outcomes of the assembly, asserting that the dialogue was conducted while the country suffers under an expanding war driven by the ruling administration.
The EPRP stressed that a national dialogue should serve as an inclusive platform to address deep-rooted political questions on an equal footing. Instead, the party argued, the government has prioritized military force over genuine political resolution, exposing Ethiopian citizens to severe conflicts, mass displacement, arbitrary detentions, and economic collapse under an authoritarian system.
The statement criticized the ruling Prosperity Party for utilizing the four-week assembly to consolidate its grip on power rather than fostering genuine national consensus. The EPRP alleged that the administration brought forward contentious, highly polarizing issues dividing the political elite—topics that had not received adequate consultation—and attempted to push them through without proper agreement.
“An entity that created the crisis can never be the entity that solves it,” the party stated, emphasizing that meaningful dialogue requires fundamental pre-conditions, including the release of political prisoners, an immediate end to ongoing armed hostilities, and equal participation free from ruling party influence.
The EPRP leveled detailed accusations against government policies in major urban centers, particularly Addis Ababa and surrounding areas:
- The party condemned the “Corridor Development” and “Sheger City” initiatives, alleging that they have caused unlawful displacement, violated the rights of indigenous residents, and led to the destruction of places of worship.
- According to the statement, residents in Sheger City have been subjected to forced financial contributions for local militias, the Oromia Development Association, cobblestone paving, wall paint, and administrative compound upgrades.
- The party also accused the administration of illegally selling farmland, engaging in systemic corruption, and sidelining professional experts in favor of ethnic quotas and political loyalty.
Directing attention to Dire Dawa, the EPRP described the city’s current governance framework as “apartheid-like legislation” that uses percentage-based ethnic allocations to disenfranchise the broader populace.
Concluding its statement, the EPRP called for an entirely new, impartial, and all-inclusive national dialogue and reconciliation process acceptable to all political stakeholders and the public.
The party’s rejection comes despite repeated assertions by the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission that the assembly was conducted independently, inclusively, and in accordance with established participatory methodologies.
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This party has the inalienable rights to its opinion about the dialogue and other issues it may deem crucial to the old country. But even though it is also it is in its constitutional rights to shun the dialogue, I wish it was in it so we could hear it’s on the spot findings. Otherwise, it would be based on hear-say gossips and chamber echos.
Meanwhile, I want to tell PM Abiy not to even think about touching this daughter/sister of ours. Leave her alone.
I have been searching for the website of this party and the only one I found has its office in France. It tells nothing about its current leadership. I wanted to know about its leadership to find out the number of women in that position. For me, if an Ethiopian political part or group does not have at least 50% women in its leadership and membership, it will not get my full endorsement. Don’t tell me our women are not ready for that role. Don’t even dream about it. If your party/group does not have such structure, then you are a bunch of misogynists. In this case, this group is using our daughter just as a front/decal for brazen publicity. It ain’t gonna work with me or with 50.5% of Ethiopia’s population that are women.
Is this a party that does not even have its own website in this internet day and age? If one exists, where is it?
In any case my reminder to the regime remains. Leave our daughter alone!
I hope our daughter/sister will have the chance to read this comment or at least hear about it from her colleagues who did so.
Dear HE Mistere,
You have given a very correct and credible evaluation of, and rejection of, the so-called National Dialogue, which appears to have been designed to give greater authority and control to the former OLF/OOPDO and the current Prosperity Party.
The so-called opposition parties, including Amhara’s ABIN and EZEMA led by Professor Berhanu Nega, have also rejected the outcome and expressed serious doubts about any positive results from this twisted and controlled National Dialogue.
It is a shame for the leaders of this process, particularly Professor Mesfin and his assistant, Hirut Oda. Their efforts have produced little of value for the Ethiopian people. I pray for healing for Ethiopia and for a genuine national reconciliation process one comparable in spirit to the reconciliation led by Bishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa.
It is also deeply disappointing that our spiritual leaders continue to attend such gatherings without speaking openly and courageously on behalf of our people. They have a moral responsibility to advocate for peace, justice, reconciliation, and the well-being of Ethiopia.
Pastor Degone Moretew