Electoral reforms are high on the agenda as Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hosts dozens of opposition leaders in his office to discuss what he called “the building of democratic institutions and culture”.
The meeting, which is being attended by the newly appointed chair of the election board, Birtukan Mideksa, signals the beginning of a series of talks between the governing Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and opposition groups ahead of elections in 2020.
In his opening address Mr Abiy affirmed his government’s commitment to hold a free and fair election and support the opposition which he urged to be less fragmented.
Many of the country’s main opposition groups had been based outside Ethiopia and only recently returned, following the prime minister’s programme of reforms since taking office seven months ago. But ethnic unrest has continued to challenge the new administration.
More than one million people are displaced across the country by ethnically motivated attacks and conflicts.
