Good Governance Africa – Horn of Africa Regional Office (GGA-HARO) initiated a three-part pre-election public dialogue series based on the conviction that evidence-based policy dialogue among political parties and key stakeholders significantly contributes to efforts to improve governance, civic participation, and broader socioeconomic development. As Ethiopia approaches its seventh national elections scheduled for June 1, 2026, GGA-HARO believes the political and social landscape demands substantive and evidence-based policy deliberation. In collaboration with the Ethiopian Political Parties Joint Council (EPPJC), this series was designed to facilitate an informed and inclusive dialogue among competing political parties. Participating political parties were selected for each session based on the number of candidates they enrolled for the upcoming elections and their specific relevance to the issues under discussion. Notably, while two different opposition parties participated in each of the dialogue sessions, the ruling Prosperity Party was represented in all three.
The series sought to achieve three primary objectives: (1) offering an impartial platform for political parties to share their manifestos and policy programmes on civil service, youth, and local governance; (2) providing citizens with evidence-based information to enhance public awareness of core governance issues and party positions; and (3) encouraging constructive engagement among political parties, academics and civil society organizations on key governance issues. GGA‑HARO identified the civil service, youth empowerment, and local governance as among the critical pillars, alongside other factors, underpinning Ethiopia’s long‑term stability and democratisation processes. By grounding these discussions in empirical evidence provided by senior academics from Addis Ababa University, GGA-HARO aimed to transform the conventional political party debate into an interactive policy dialogue that effectively bridges the gap between research and political practice.
