Power hungry

The opposition has emerged as trenchant critics of the government of national unity but not an alternative.

Opposition leaders were once supporters of either President Ashraf Ghani or Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

The opposition has emerged as trenchant critics of the government of national unity but not an alternative.

Opposition leaders were once supporters of either President Ashraf Ghani or Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. But marginalised during the formation of the government, they are seeking to stay relevant by criticising the Ghani-Abdullah government.

Shora e Herasat Wa Subat Afghanistan (council for the protection and stability of Afghanistan) led by Abdul Rasoul Sayaf and the newer New National Front of Anwarulhaq Ahadi are the two main opposition fronts.

Political analyst Salman Ali Doszada says that while it is healthy to have an opposition that monitors the programmes and performances of the government, the two opposition fronts have neither alternative programmes nor views to offer. “These are not a real opposition,” he says, “Most were marginalised with power passing into new hands after elections in 2014.”

The Afghan Constitution permits the formation of opposition groups as the right of every citizen.

Leader of the New National Front Ahadi was a former minister of commerce. He has repeatedly called for fresh presidential elections. “Problems of governance are extremely serious in Afghanistan,” he told Killid. “The governmental is just a so-called government of national unity. It lacks legality or ability, and (fresh) presidential elections should be held so that a legal government comes into existence for solving the problems in the country.”

There is no dearth of critics. Sidiq Patman, a former deputy minister of education who has joined the National Front, has also called for a change of president. Sayaf’s Shora e Herasat Wa Subat Afghanistan is a who’s who of the previous Hamid Karzai government including several jihadist leaders. Launched on Oct 19 last year, its members include Mohammad Yunus Qanoni, former first vice president of Hamid Karzai, Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal, former minister of economy, Bismillah Mohammadi, former minister of defense, Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, speaker of Parliament, Mohammad Esmail Khan, former minister of water and energy, and Omar Dawoodzai, former minister of interior affairs.

For change

At its inaugural meeting, the council bemoaned the current situation. It warned political uncertainty could lead to the collapse of the government. It has called for the holding of parliamentary elections, the amending of the electoral system, and a loya jirga to review the Constitution. It has also raised the red flag on the security situation and widening war. It has demanded the arming of mujahedin in the fight against Taleban and a role for people in the peace process.

The opposition claims it is not trying to oust the government but trying to reform the democratic process of governing Afghanistan. Speaking at the inaugural meeting, Sayaf said, “We are partial to the elections the government promised. We are partial to holding a loya jirga on the Constitution. If a delay happens and it is not held on time, people would think about an alternative, an alternative that could be sweet or bitter but we don’t want Afghanistan to get to that limit.”

The opposition insists the government had promised to call a loya jirga on the Constitution within two years of taking over. The jirga would amend the Constitution and change the presidential system of government to Sadarati (premiership) and the chief executive would be the prime minister.

While the Independent Election Commission has announced parliamentary elections in October, the opposition insists it must be held in either spring or summer.

Political analyst Dostzada questions the pro-people rhetoric of the opposition fronts. “How come when they were in key positions in government or during the civil war they were not pro-people?” he asks.