There is growing unease over UNAMA head Jan Kubis’s reference to future elections.
On March 28 addressing a press conference in Kabul, Kubis, special representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan,
On March 28 addressing a press conference in Kabul, Kubis, special representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, said there were many tasks before UNAMA. “I would mention,” he said, “political processes, peace and reconciliation, good governance, protection of human rights, issues linked to the elections … the Presidential election in 2014 and Parliamentary elections in 2015.” He said all these issues and areas of work would be the basis of UNAMA’s current mandate not just for the year ahead, but for the years to come.
His words have been interpreted to signal a change in UNAMA’s role. Instead of a working partnership, the relationship between the UN mission and Afghan government has changed into a conflict of power with both sides doing the utmost to sideline the other.
The UN special representative in Afghanistan has had a strong role in facilitating political and social change since the Taleban regime was ousted in 2001. There have been clashes of interest which have strained relations with the government for instance the president’s decision to seek a second term.
Strains in ties
Now the seeds of a new disagreement have been sown following the special representative’s press conference to announce a new mandate for his mission that was unanimously approved by the Security Council in New York. He said the UN recognises that Afghanistan is assuming more sovereignty … “that the transition process goes on, that all of us are facing new realities on the ground …”
“As far as our new tasks are concerned,” Kubis said, “… we in UNAMA should provide outreach as well as good offices to support the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process of peace and reconciliation and work for confidence-building … or that we should support at the request of the Afghan authorities, organisation of the future Afghan elections and strengthen support of the Government of Afghanistan’s efforts towards sustainability, integrity and inclusiveness of the electoral process and provide capacity-building and technical assistance.”
Testing times
The special representative’s words have been interpreted to mean the UN has plans to play a major role in future elections that would “parallel” the Afghan government’s election efforts.
President Hamid Karzai had carried out his threat of not permitting the UNAMA a role in the presidential election by amending the election law, and excluding UNAMA’s representative from the election commission.
Siyamak Herawi, a spokesman for the Afghan government, told Killid the United Nations will have only supervisory role in future presidential elections. He said, “The government of Afghanistan welcomes the cooperation of UN in coming elections but not as an excuse to interfere in the election. Its role will be as a supervisor for a just election.”
Herawi’s statements have produced different reactions from political observers and members of parliament. Some political commentators believe there will be a crisis if the UN is prevented from playing an active role in the election process.
Jafar Mahdawi, Member of Parliament, said in case the UN is sidelined, it would be impossible to guarantee a transparent and just election. Presidential polls after 2014, when foreign forces will hand over security duties to Afghan troops, “would be full of challenges”, he said.
Fazal Rahman Oria, political observer, wonders if the president’s office is trying to sideline UNAMA. “What is important in the mission of UNAMA is the role and share of UNAMA in presidential elections of 2014, whereas Karzai is trying to dilute and ignore the mission’s role in the elections, to be able to act openly (independently).”
Shah Hosain Mortazawi, another political expert and journalist, also believes the Afghan government will never give up the key role to the United Nations. “Allegations of (poll-related) corruption and responsibility are the business of the Afghan government. The courts and attorney general’s have the lawful right to follow up on these issues. The UN cannot interfere.”
It seems that acrimony between the Afghan government and UNAMA, whose mission was extended by a year in March by the UN Security Council, is stronger than in the past in the run up to 2014. Special representative Kubis’s announcement that a new mandate calls for a shift in focus towards working more inclusively with the Afghan government and civil society have deepened suspicions.
