Ethiopia is considering a major redesign of its political system that could strengthen Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s executive authority by merging the largely ceremonial presidency with the office of the prime minister. The proposal emerged from a national dialogue involving roughly 4,000 delegates, though opposition parties and influential armed groups boycotted the process. Abiy’s Prosperity Party, which won a large majority in June’s parliamentary elections, would therefore be well positioned to advance the changes through Parliament. Supporters argue that a directly elected president could unify Ethiopia’s fractured ethnic and regional politics. Critics, however, fear greater concentration of power in Abiy’s hands could weaken democratic checks and increase the risk of authoritarian rule. With conflicts still simmering in Oromia and Amhara and unresolved tensions from the Tigray war, observers say restructuring the government does little to address Ethiopia’s deeper ethnic and economic divides.