Ethiopia's Ruling Party Gains Unchecked Power to Rewrite Constitution

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's Prosperity Party secured 438 of 501 parliamentary seats in June 2026—surpassing the two-thirds supermajority needed to amend the constitution without opposition support. This matters because Ethiopia's federal structure remains fragile: Tigray's reintegration, Amhara and Oromo tensions, and Addis Ababa's governance all depend on constitutional language. A dominant legislature now gives the executive room to reshape institutions unilaterally.