Two years ago, not one but two leaders were handed over the reins of power in Afghanistan. People thought spring 2015 would be one of hope and tranquility, but the ice between the two leaders did not melt and it
Two years ago, not one but two leaders were handed over the reins of power in Afghanistan. People thought spring 2015 would be one of hope and tranquility, but the ice between the two leaders did not melt and it penetrated the soul of Afghans. With the onset of spring, can we hope for a return of hope?
There are three main challenges before the government of national unity. It is committed to electoral reforms; holding parliamentary polls; and tackling corruption while pushing forward the peace process.
Both President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah have separately promised to counter corruption. It is on the agenda of the national unity government, but there is little to boast in terms of progress.
Arif Omed, a civil society activist and member of a students’ union, thinks corruption and nepotism have “increased” under the present government. “We confront this (nepotism) when we search for jobs,” he says.
Take Hadi who graduated in political science two years ago, but is still jobless. “You should be a member of one of the two government teams or spend huge amounts of money to get a government post. But the latter is risky. The job could slip away should the political fortune (of your benefactor) change,” he says.
Electoral reforms
The Ghani-Abdullah government has made very slow progress on the promised electoral reforms. It took nearly 10 months for the two to agree on the composition of an electoral reform commission. But that did not bridge the rift between them. Suggestions made by the commission have been rejected by one or the other side. Neither has the president been able to win over the chief of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani.
The IEC has announced the schedule for parliamentary and district council elections. Elections are long overdue. The term of lawmakers ended in June 2015, and President Ghani had issued a special decree to extend Parliament’s term.
Nuristani who addressed a press conference on Jan 10 this year said the mid-October elections would be organised on time provided the government takes all necessary steps including arranging for the budget and security for election staff and ballot boxes. The government should have given the IEC half the 117-million USD budget to hold the elections by Feb 24, but nothing has been heard.
Political expert Abdul Hasan Mubalegh is not optimistic. Reforms in the electoral system were required to ensure transparency in holding elections, he says. So far, Chief Executive Abdullah has not budged from his stand that elections will not be held until the electoral system is reformed.
Peace talks
The relative progress made in the four-nation talks is the government’s big achievement. But concerns about security remain. Even President Ghani, speaking at a press conference, cautioned Afghans to be ready for “worse days and hopes for best situation”.
A new survey by the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies in 15 provinces has revealed a majority of people are pessimistic about the outcome of peace talks. “70.6 percent of the interviewed people said peace talks in Afghanistan have been a failure all the while,” said Ghulam Reza Ebrahimi, a member of the AISS.
Based on the survey, 62 percent of respondents were also concerned that human rights and women’s rights will be compromised in the talks. The survey shows that people are also concerned about transparency of the talks. “The most important concerns include lack of transparency in peace talks, ignoring the rights of women, not respecting the Constitution and rights of people,” Ebrahimi told reporters.
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