Will there be consensus building between the government and opposition political parties or a deepening of the rift between them in the run up to the presidential election in 2014?
Will there be consensus building between the government and opposition political parties or a deepening of the rift between them in the run up to the presidential election in 2014?For the first time, the presidential palace was the venue of a meeting called by President Hamid Karzai between the government and representatives of 24 political parties and civil society institutions.
Among those who attended were Dr Abdullah Abdullah, leader of the National Coalition of Afghanistan, members of the Right and Justice Party, Mohammad Karim Khalili of the Hizb-e Wahdat-e Islami, and Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal, chief of Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan.
Among those who boycotted were leaders of the Afghanistan National Front Ahmad Zia Massoud, Abdul Rashid Dostum and Mohammad Mohaqiq, MP from Bamiyan. They dismissed the meeting as a “political ploy” by the president, and said the government cannot be trusted to keep its commitments.
Political leaders met with President Karzai on Nov 28. Rights and Justice Party’s Moeen Marastiyal said Karzai repeated his objections to the presence of two foreigners on the 7-member board of the Election Complaints Commission. There were also differences over the opposition’s proposal for electronic voter cards to counter election fraud. The government insisted the current election cards should be valid for the presidential election.
The presidential press office claimed the Nov 28 meeting was the “start” for weaving a national agreement between the government and political parties.
Prove commitment
However, independent political analysts are cautious. The general opinion is that the government has to prove its intent by building on the meeting.
Hamidullah Farooqi, well-known political analyst and member of the Rights and Justice Party, observed a “good precedent” has been set in the government and opposition parties coming together to discuss the presidential elections that are going to be a test of Afghanistan’s commitment to democracy. By 2014, the US-led foreign troops would have completed handing over security duties to the Afghan military and police.
Farooqi was hopeful that the institutions in charge of the poll would be able to lay the ground for a transparent poll and peaceful transfer of power in 2014.
“The (Nov 28) meeting would be (considered) an achievement were the government to stick to promises,” he said. “It would need follow up and pressure (from the opposition) to ensure that the spirit of cooperation between the government and political parties should be organised in a positive manner.”
Will the government and the opposition succeed in building a consensus?
Sardar Rahimi, lecture in a private university and member of the National Front of Afghanistan, is not optimistic. He cites the government’s decision to refer the legal tussle of who has the “authority” in the election process to the Ministry of Justice as evidence that Karzai will not accept the opposition’s proposals. “Any amendment to the articles (election law) once reviewed by the Ministry will be according to the wishes of the government,” he asserted.
The president has maintained his opposition to the presence of two expatriates in the Election Complaints Commission. With a third of members appointed by the government, there is unease over its independence.
People’s interests
Moreover, according to Rahimi, the Nov 28 meeting was a show of strength by Karzai; an exercise to remind the opposition that he can summon them whenever he wants. Whenever the opposition has tried to combine against the government, the government has lured away partners with promise of powerful posts.
What has been the reaction of political parties?
Engineer Asem, political analyst and member of the National Coalition of Afghanistan, was of the view the president has not built up trust with the opposition; consultations and negotiations were unlikely to lead to national agreement. Also, unless Karzai has a change of heart and puts selflessness over selfishness, he is unlikely to lead a movement for consensus building.
Engineer Asem warned the government that civil society would use political levers like the Free & Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan to force change if Karzai does not yield to the demands of the opposition.
Does the opposition reflect the wishes of the people and is its clash with the government in the people’s best interests?
Mustafa Asem, journalist and writer, has his doubts. He believes Afghan political parties have frequently shown they make use of the rights of people for political gain – they ignore national interest to negotiate better political positions for themselves.
“The meeting of political parties in the presidential palace may only be a game to weaken each other and jockey for better positions in electoral partnerships,” observed Asem.
Latifa Ahmadi, a student of political science in a Kabul university, said: “The people’s trust in the government is weak. The political parties also do not have the trust of people.”
According to Zaki Sayedkhani, political analyst, “If the government and political parties really want to build national agreement, they should put people’s interest before their own.” That is still a distant dream.
