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Ethiopia held the largest election in its history on June 1. One region did not vote at all. Ten weeks later, the north was fighting again.

On August 22, The Africa Desk Live examined what the Prosperity Party's supermajority means for a country of 130 million people. The party won 438 of the 501 seats actually contested in the 547-seat House of People's Representatives. There was no vote in Tigray's 38 constituencies and none in parts of Amhara.

Analysis cited on air offered two readings. The Center for Strategic and International Studies noted that the result removes legislative obstacles to economic reform, with inflation stabilized around 12 percent and officials expecting growth above 10 percent. But CSIS also described an accountability deficit, with no one in the chamber whose job is to say no.

The north

The 2022 Pretoria agreement ended a war that the Atlantic Council estimates killed 600,000 people, but it left three issues unresolved. Tigrayan forces did not demobilize, Western Tigray remains occupied by Amhara militias, and control of Tigray's government is still contested. On August 1, an armed incursion attributed to TPLF-aligned forces crossed from Sudanese territory at Shiraro and was repelled within hours. The federal government issued no statement.

Journalists under pressure

Five journalists detained in 2023 on terrorism-related charges connected to their reporting on Amhara are approaching three years without a concluded trial. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that they are being pressed to sign apology letters admitting involvement in an armed insurgency in exchange for release, and all five have refused. Their lawyer noted that Ethiopian law allows a pardon only after conviction, so there is legally nothing to pardon.

The program also set two dates side by side without characterizing them. On February 14, Reuters published a report alleging that Ethiopia had built a camp to train fighters from Sudan's Rapid Support Forces. On February 16, three Reuters reporters lost their accreditation. CSIS has described the underlying allegation as contested rather than conclusive.

Corrections on the record

The scheduled Hour 1 guest did not join and gave no reason, and the hour ran from the public record, with every source named on air. Five errors made during the broadcast, including seat counts and Abiy Ahmed's title of Prime Minister, were read aloud at the top of the following week's episode and published permanently in MORE's newsletter, The Desk Dispatch.

In the second hour, Doris D. Myers and Rufus J. Kwenah of LESSAT Africa described 14 years of volunteer-run science and technology programs that Myers estimates have helped more than 200 Liberian students into science careers.