Elections to Parliament are not the only ones due to be held in Afghanistan. The Independent Election Commission (IEC) is hamstrung by budgetary and other concerns.
The IEC has announced parliamentary and district council polls next year. Elections for village councils and municipalities including the post of mayor have not been held because of security concerns and money constraints.
On Aug 30, President Ashraf Ghani approved seven of the recommendations of the special electoral reforms commission by issuing a decree. These include cancellation of all voter cards, a seat for Indian Afghans in Parliament, and increase in the number of women’s seats to 25 percent in both provincial and district councils.
The president turned down the recommendation to make smaller constituencies.
Abdul Rahman Hotaki, the deputy IEC chief, said there was enough time to organise elections. “If the government has the intention, the election commission is ready to hold the two polls in 2016,” he told Killid. Since the Constitution was approved in 2004, two parliamentary polls have been held.
The government has not been able to hold elections for the municipality, district council and for the post of mayor because of cash constraints among others. Noor Mohammad Noor, the spokesperson of IEC says, “Holding of every type of election needs money –
the international community has not been ready to finance all the different elections,” she said. In the more restive districts, the constituencies have not been delineated and makes it that much harder to organise elections.
Under the law, there should be two members who are selected by provincial and district councils beside 34 senators appointed by the president. So far the district representative’s post has been vacant and filled up by a member of the provincial council.
Article 84 of the Constitution states: One of the selected representatives is chosen by members of the provincial council and introduced for four years to the senate while the second representative is selected from the district. The remaining one third of senators would be experienced; two representatives for the disabled, two representatives for kuchi (nomads) selected by the president for five years. The president would also appoint half the women.
Civil society activists consider the devolution of power vital for strengthening democracy and relations between the government and people.
Husain Bahman, observer and media watcher, insists the government is interested only in the presidential and parliamentary elections.
“Political leaders don’t want to involve people in the structure of government. They make use of tribal and regional affiliations to shore up their own power,” said Bahman.
Strengthen democracy
Nayeem Ayubzada, head of the Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA) says not holding district council elections was damaging to both democracy and development. “A part of the senate that should had been filled by representatives of the people has not existed and that is a big breach of the law,” he observed.
The president has so far approved the appointment of mayors although under the Constitution they are to be voted by people. TEFA’s Ayubzada says, “The government of people has not been established yet …”
People in Kunar, Khost and Zabul complain mayors are political appointees. Haji Mohammad Esmayeel Zabuli, a tribal leader from Zabul province says, “Were mayors to be selected by people, they would be responsive to people and perform.”
Naqibullah Siyal, an activist with Qalam, a non-governmental organisation in Khost complains about lack of accountability of the mayors. “All former and present mayors have been selected based on their links with the powerful individuals – the municipality is a big source of income,” he observes.
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