Ethiopia’s Democratic Backsliding and 2026 Elections

The National Dialogue ended with 400 recommendations while excluding major armed and political actors; the Prosperity Party holds 438 of 486 parliamentary seats amid reported journalist abductions, coercive confessions involving more than 300 detainees, and civil-society pressure. The reported Addis Standard abduction and newsroom search, alongside reduced U.S. sanctions pressure on Eritrean actors, indicate worsening accountability and media-freedom risks.