Abstract:
The Ethiopia‘s National Dialogue Commission has been considered as a solution for crucial
problems a nation has faced. But it has not been successful as expected. Therefore identifying the
key factors that may influence the commission‘s success are important. This study investigates
public sentiment towards Ethiopia‘s National Dialogue Commission (ENDC), and key factors
that influence public sentiment towards the commission, focusing on credibility, transparency,
impartiality and inclusivity of the commission in line with this, the thesis examines the degree of
influence these factors potentially cause on public sentiment Adopting a mixed-methods
research approach, the study integrates quantitative data from structured surveys and qualitative
insights from interviews, targeting 400 respondents from the public and known political
intellectuals, political parties and civic associations. Quantitative data analysis involved
descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple linear regressions, while qualitative data
underwent thematic analysis. The findings reveal that credibility, transparency and impartiality
significantly predict public sentiment towards the commission, with credibility is the strongest
predictor of public sentiment. The study concludes that credibility, transparency and impartiality
have been highlighted as essential for fostering trust and engagement among the public. For
instance, inclusiveness ensures that all voices, especially those from marginalized groups, are
heard and considered. Transparency helps in building trust by making the process open and clear
to everyone involved. Credibility and impartiality are vital for ensuring that the dialogue is seen
as fair and unbiased. The findings indicate a moderate level of public trust in the commission,
with a mean value of 2.832, translating to 56.6% public trust. These factors attribute 69.7% in the
change of public sentiment. However, there are still other factors not discovered in this study
which contribute for 30.3% of the change in public sentiment