Electoral reforms vital for Afghan government
United front needed to combat violence
PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
As Afghanistan braces itself for the Taliban’s spring offensive in the coming weeks, former mujahideen leaders and politicians, including former president Hamid Karzai, are exerting pressure on the current regime.
Karzai, who had initially promised to support the national unity government under President Ashraf Ghani, recently attended a meeting of the former mujahideen and political leaders. The moot is believed to be his attempt to publically back the Council for Protection and Stability in Afghanistan.
The council is led by Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf. He formed the council in December 2015 with the support of former mujahideen leaders and politicians who had served during Karzai’s government.
It is widely believed in Afghanistan that the government is opposed by a majority of those political and former mujahideen leaders who had been part of Karzai’s US-backed regime.
In its meeting this week, the council called for holding parliamentary and district council elections and a constitutional “Loya Jirga” or Grand Assembly under the September 2014 agreement that led to the formation of the incumbent government.
The parliamentary elections were to be held in 2015 but got delayed because of the government’s inability to introduce electoral reforms.
In June 2015, President Ghani extended the Parliament’s mandate until new elections were to be held.
The Parliament’s five-year term expired on June 22, 2015 but polls scheduled for April were delayed because of the lack of reforms to ensure transparent vote. There is widespread support for the reforms in view of alleged rigging in the 2014 presidential election.
Reforms are not only a demand in Afghanistan but also in the US and the country’s other western allies. The international financial support would mainly depend on the quick introduction and implementation of administrative reforms to end corruption.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who visited Kabul this week “reviewed the government’s reforms and encouraged further progress” during his meeting with President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, a NATO statement read.
On January 8, President Ghani also extended the term of the 34 appointed senators in the upper house until after the next parliamentary election. After President Ghani announced the delayed parliamentary and district council elections, that will be held in mid or late 2016, the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan set October 15, 2016 as the date for the election.
However, the election schedule faced criticism from the political opposition, observer groups and the office of the chief executive.
The presidential spokesperson argued the current commission had “no legitimacy” to set a date and called for the formation of a new independent election commission to hold elections.
Afghan analysts agree that the national unity government faces multiple security and economic challenges at a time when former mujahideen and some opposition leaders, including Karzai, are building up political pressure.
Afghanistan Defence Minister Shah Nawaz Tanai said the national unity government does not enjoy the international and internal support that Karzai had during his leadership.
“The major issue is the government was not formed in accordance with the law and the Constitution, and the two heads have different approaches. At the same time, it faces a lot of difficulties and political pressures,” Tanai told The Express Tribune.
However, Tanai, who now heads a political movement, said the international community will not allow the collapse of the government and will continue to support it despite political and security problems.
Brigadier (retd) Said Nazir Mohmand, an analyst who closely observes developments in Afghanistan, also agrees with the notion of political challenges to the Afghan government. He says there are pressure groups within the Afghan government who are on not the same page regarding policy decisions.
“Every pressure group is a stakeholder and is being accommodated in the unity government irrespective of their approach to problems the government faces,” Mohmand told The Express Tribune on Friday.
“Their survival is dependent on each other, though there are divergent views on various policies. Therefore, a united front towards dialogue with the Taliban ends up suffering from inaction or delayed response,” he said.
Afghanistan needs political stability and unity at a time when concerns have emerged about the intensity of Taliban violence after their refusal to join the peace process. In a latest message, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor has asked his fighters to prepare themselves for a “final assault”.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2016.
As Afghanistan braces itself for the Taliban’s spring offensive in the coming weeks, former mujahideen leaders and politicians, including former president Hamid Karzai, are exerting pressure on the current regime.
Karzai, who had initially promised to support the national unity government under President Ashraf Ghani, recently attended a meeting of the former mujahideen and political leaders. The moot is believed to be his attempt to publically back the Council for Protection and Stability in Afghanistan.
The council is led by Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf. He formed the council in December 2015 with the support of former mujahideen leaders and politicians who had served during Karzai’s government.
It is widely believed in Afghanistan that the government is opposed by a majority of those political and former mujahideen leaders who had been part of Karzai’s US-backed regime.
In its meeting this week, the council called for holding parliamentary and district council elections and a constitutional “Loya Jirga” or Grand Assembly under the September 2014 agreement that led to the formation of the incumbent government.
The parliamentary elections were to be held in 2015 but got delayed because of the government’s inability to introduce electoral reforms.
In June 2015, President Ghani extended the Parliament’s mandate until new elections were to be held.
The Parliament’s five-year term expired on June 22, 2015 but polls scheduled for April were delayed because of the lack of reforms to ensure transparent vote. There is widespread support for the reforms in view of alleged rigging in the 2014 presidential election.
Reforms are not only a demand in Afghanistan but also in the US and the country’s other western allies. The international financial support would mainly depend on the quick introduction and implementation of administrative reforms to end corruption.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who visited Kabul this week “reviewed the government’s reforms and encouraged further progress” during his meeting with President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, a NATO statement read.
On January 8, President Ghani also extended the term of the 34 appointed senators in the upper house until after the next parliamentary election. After President Ghani announced the delayed parliamentary and district council elections, that will be held in mid or late 2016, the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan set October 15, 2016 as the date for the election.
However, the election schedule faced criticism from the political opposition, observer groups and the office of the chief executive.
The presidential spokesperson argued the current commission had “no legitimacy” to set a date and called for the formation of a new independent election commission to hold elections.
Afghan analysts agree that the national unity government faces multiple security and economic challenges at a time when former mujahideen and some opposition leaders, including Karzai, are building up political pressure.
Afghanistan Defence Minister Shah Nawaz Tanai said the national unity government does not enjoy the international and internal support that Karzai had during his leadership.
“The major issue is the government was not formed in accordance with the law and the Constitution, and the two heads have different approaches. At the same time, it faces a lot of difficulties and political pressures,” Tanai told The Express Tribune.
However, Tanai, who now heads a political movement, said the international community will not allow the collapse of the government and will continue to support it despite political and security problems.
Brigadier (retd) Said Nazir Mohmand, an analyst who closely observes developments in Afghanistan, also agrees with the notion of political challenges to the Afghan government. He says there are pressure groups within the Afghan government who are on not the same page regarding policy decisions.
“Every pressure group is a stakeholder and is being accommodated in the unity government irrespective of their approach to problems the government faces,” Mohmand told The Express Tribune on Friday.
“Their survival is dependent on each other, though there are divergent views on various policies. Therefore, a united front towards dialogue with the Taliban ends up suffering from inaction or delayed response,” he said.
Afghanistan needs political stability and unity at a time when concerns have emerged about the intensity of Taliban violence after their refusal to join the peace process. In a latest message, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor has asked his fighters to prepare themselves for a “final assault”.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2016.