The disqualification of 62 members of the Wolesi jirga, the lower house of Parliament and the announcement of 62 new names, has caused a political crisis in Afghanistan that has pitted the Parliament against the government.
The disqualification of 62 members of the Wolesi jirga, the lower house of Parliament and the announcement of 62 new names, has caused a political crisis in Afghanistan that has pitted the Parliament against the government.The tussle has been ongoing since the parliamentary elections of September 2010. Based on complaints by losing candidates, the President set up a Special Election Court to investigate the decisions of the electoral institutions – the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC).
Sitting MPs (those declared elected by the IEC) however have been protesting the decision on the Special court, established through a presidential decree, arguing that it was President Karzai’s attempt to take control over the legislative branch. The candidates who lost in the elections however feel the decision to set up a special court was fair and in accordance with the Constitution.
Special court pros and cons
Sardar Mohammad Rahman Oghli, one of the parliamentary candidates who lost in the last elections believes the decision of the Special Court was in accordance with the Constitution as well as the Islamic Sharia. “According to the Constitution, establishment of this court is legal, but if anyone has any criticism or comment on the judicial process of the electoral violators, they can appeal to the Supreme Court.”
Daud Sultanzoy and Azita Rafat, whose names were amongst the list of new winning candidates announced by the Special Court, insist that the decision of the Special Court must be respected and implemented. They also called on the Afghan government to prosecute and punish those involved in the fraud during the parliamentary election.
Mohammad Maroof Fazli, Head of Afghan-Melat Party, who is also on the new list of MPs declared elected by the special court, says “the special court was established to look into the complaints about electoral fraud in accordance with an order of the Afghan Supreme Court and a presidential decree. Therefore whatever this court has decided is legal.”
Maulvi Sediqullah Haqiqi, Head of the Special Court assured everyone of the fairness of the decision of the court and said it was intended to ensure justice. The Attorney General Mohammed Ishaq Aloko emphasized the legality and authority of the Special Court and said its decision needed to be given the same respect as that of the Friday prayers.
Latif Pedram, a sitting MP also alleges that the Presidential elections of 2009 need to be investigated as there was fraudulent voting even during that. “There are many things in the President’s electoral result sheet which breaks the law and it should be investigated and prosecuted.” Pedram also drew attention to other issues he said were evidence of corruption, such as the Kabul Bank financial scandal, the admission of the Presidential office that it received money from foreign countries and other financial crimes which, he said, the President was responsible for and which needed to be prosecuted.
Many sitting MPs say the Special Court was itself illegal. “It was created illegally and its decisions are completely illegal”, says Saleh Mohammad Saljooqi, an MP who pointed out that the President had also repeatedly promised to dissolve the Special Court.
Some of the MPs have threatened to launch massive protests and demonstrations, warning that if the Court’s decision is implemented, there would be a nationwide crisis which would be out of the control of the Afghan government. “If the Afghan government wants to implement special court decisions, most of the representatives will defend their rights through nationwide demonstrations and protests”, says Ahmad Shah Ramazan, an MP. “Then the Afghan government will not be able to subdue the power of the people and it will be out of their control.” Dr. Abdullah, Leader of Coalition for Hope and Change, opposed the decision of the Special Court terming it a conspiracy against the lower house of Parliament.
Electoral institutions protest
The Independent Election Commission, in a statement, said it alone retained the authority for administering and supervising any kind of election and “no other organization in the country has the authority to be involved in the administration of election and any kind of performances in this regard is considered against the Constitution.” The IEC said “changes in results of an election after announcing final results and specifically after opening the Parliament is not within the authority of any organization including the IEC and any action in this regard is directly contradicting the enforced laws of the country.”
The Electoral Complaints Commission also termed the Special Court decision an illegal action. Tabesh Forooq, spokesperson of the ECC, said: “The election process was conducted by responsible and legal organizations responsible for the conduct of elections. The election was supervised by officials and its decisions are all legal.”
Some members of the lower house opposing the Special Court have established a new coalition calling itself ‘Coalition in Support of Rule of Law, and asked the global community to solve this problem. Ahmad Behzad, First Deputy of the Lower House, told reporters there was a meeting between Staffan de Mistura, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in Afghanistan and representatives of the lower house, during which the UN envoy fully supported the legitimacy of the lower house and its Constitutional legality.
According to the UN, De Mistura told the parliamentarians that “Afghanistan’s democratic institutions must resolve these elections issues in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. De Mistura told Parliamentarians they should “act responsibly in making their constitutional demands and not resort to sit-ins, protests or other actions which could provoke public unrest.” In a subsequent statement the UN envoy also said that the UN was not involved in addressing individual cases. Representatives of the lower house have urged the UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon to intervene.
Government against interference
The Afghan government has however warned the international community not to interfere. Presidential spokesman Wahid Omar told a news conference that “When there is a specific solution for each problem in the framework of Afghan rules and laws, then the reference of the issue to an individual or a foreign organization will not only not solve the problem, but it will violate Afghan national sovereignty and amount to interference in Afghan domestic issues.”
Some of the Afghan political experts however believe the Special Court has been established by the President for his political ends. Jamshid Nikjoo Azizi, a lecturer in Law and Politics in Herat University believes the Afghan President intends to replace some of the current parliamentarians with individuals close to him. Some locals in Herat who did not want to be named said: “Six months have passed since the Parliament was inaugurated. The Special Court should not have issued such a decision.”
“Afghan government officials should make a decision to reduce the tensions, not increase it”, said Khodada, a resident.
