Afghans Suspect Foreign Hand in Poll Delay
Postponement of general election viewed with suspicion by ordinary people and analysts.
Afghans Suspect Foreign Hand in Poll Delay
Postponement of general election viewed with suspicion by ordinary people and analysts.
A decision to postpone Afghanistan’s parliamentary election by four months to September has been greeted with dismay by Afghans who think it is a breach of the constitution and has been imposed by foreign powers.
The Independent Election Commission, IEC, announced on January 24 that the poll would take place on September 18 instead of May 22 as required by the constitution.
Although the IEC cited a lack of funds and poor security and logistics as the reasons behind the postponement, many Afghan people and political experts do not believe it.
IEC spokesman Nur Mohammad, asked about these doubts, said, "We respect the people's opinion, but we are determined to hold the election in accordance [with] national and international standards."
The director of the IEC in Herat province, Zia Ahmad Zia, said he does not see the postponement as a violation of the constitution and believes the commission has the necessary authority to decide the date.
A spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, UNAMA, Nazifollah Salarzai, told a news conference in Kabul that UNAMA will not provide any assistance for the parliamentary election unless basic reforms take place within the IEC.
Another UNAMA spokesman, Halim Sediq, stressed the need for reform of the IEC, telling the news conference, “We want a transparent commission so that we will have a transparent parliamentary election, unlike the presidential election."
He was referring to last year’s re-election of President Hamed Karzai after a vote that was widely seen as tainted by electoral fraud as well as a lack of security and a low voter turnout.
Mohammed made clear international criticism of that poll and demands for the commission to be purged of those who tolerated corruption have sunk in.
"After the presidential and provincial council election, the commission conducted some reforms which caused 6,000 election workers to be blacklisted by the commission. Besides, directors of the IEC in four provinces - Kandahar, Nangarhar, Ghazni and Paktika - have been removed and the reform is still in process. Meanwhile, some provincial and central workers of the commission have been suspended," he said.
He added that the commission would in future only hire individuals who are committed to the principles of the IEC, “The election commission of Afghanistan accepts and welcomes preconditions and suggestions that are necessary for reform and improvement of the process."
Karzai won the president election when his challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from the race after Karzai rejected his demands for action against the IEC, including removing its director, Azizollah Ludin.
The suspicion that foreign powers lie behind the postponement of the election is rooted in Afghanistan’s colonial past and the view that other countries have always interfered. Such countries – usually not named – want everything in Afghanistan to be organised in way that suits their interests, people believe.
The United States and Britain are the leading contributors of troops to the International Security Assistance Force, the UN-established, NATO-led security and development mission.
Nasir Ahmad Lotfi, a resident of the western province of Herat, believes that foreign powers do not respect the laws of Afghanistan, "[The postponement] has been done by [them], because they want to send individuals to the parliament who will do their bidding. They want to achieve their aims this way.
"The support of some western countries for the postponement of the parliamentary election shows their level of respect for the Afghan constitution."
Homayun Azizi, a former speaker of the provincial council in Herat, told IWPR, “Some western countries present in Afghanistan want to create a weak and semi-legitimate parliament the same as they have created a weak government. The state will be forced to accept whatever the foreigners want until they have achieved their goals.”
Others are critical of the authorities for the election delay.
Golsum Sediqi, director of a women lawyers association in western Afghanistan, says officials cannot expect people and institutions to respect the constitution and other laws anymore, because they have violated the law by delaying the ballot.
"Breaking the law by officials has caused great damage to the government, because it means the Taleban, which is the biggest opposition group and itself violates the constitution, has achieved its goal. The government will not be able to tell the opposition to accept the constitution anymore, because the government itself has broken the law. Now, the government should not expect the Taleban to agree with it."
Basir Begzad, who is standing in the parliamentary election for Herat province, also questions the commission’s stated reasons for the postponement and says it amounts to a flagrant breach of the constitution.
"The election commission is to blame in this regard, because it has not been able to fulfil the demands of the international community, which has caused the international community to stop cooperation with the commission," he said.
Mohammad Rafiq Shahir, a director of the Experts' Council in Herat province, says Karzai is mainly to blame for the postponement.
"First, President Hamed Karzai violated the law during the second presidential election of Afghanistan which promoted the culture of violation of the law in the country ... he wants to place individuals in the future parliament who agree with his decisions,” he said.
Herat journalist Wali Mohammad Hadid believes them president imposed the delay in order to organise the parliamentary election to suit himself. He also feels Karzai will oppose the removal of senior IEC officials.
"High-ranking commission officials have done a great service during the presidential election for Hamed Karzai. Karzai does not want to remove them from their positions. For this reason, he postponed the election so that he will be able to hold the election the way he wishes,” he said.
Asked about the allegations against the president, Siamak Herawi, his deputy spokesman, said, “The claims made by ordinary people and analysts are their own opinions and democracy gives them the chance to express their views but they are not based on the truth. The truth was the lack of budget, bad security and other problems caused the elections to be delayed.
“The president has never interfered in the work of the electoral commission and has respected the decisions made by the commission. The president has always been independent and has never been influenced by foreigners in making decisions.
“We faced many problems in the past [presidential] elections due to the interference by foreigners. In the upcoming [parliamentary] elections foreigners will be given the right to act only as observers and they will not be given any right to interfere in our electoral affairs."
Shapoor Saber is an IWPR trainee in Herat.
The Independent Election Commission, IEC, announced on January 24 that the poll would take place on September 18 instead of May 22 as required by the constitution.
Although the IEC cited a lack of funds and poor security and logistics as the reasons behind the postponement, many Afghan people and political experts do not believe it.
IEC spokesman Nur Mohammad, asked about these doubts, said, "We respect the people's opinion, but we are determined to hold the election in accordance [with] national and international standards."
The director of the IEC in Herat province, Zia Ahmad Zia, said he does not see the postponement as a violation of the constitution and believes the commission has the necessary authority to decide the date.
A spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, UNAMA, Nazifollah Salarzai, told a news conference in Kabul that UNAMA will not provide any assistance for the parliamentary election unless basic reforms take place within the IEC.
Another UNAMA spokesman, Halim Sediq, stressed the need for reform of the IEC, telling the news conference, “We want a transparent commission so that we will have a transparent parliamentary election, unlike the presidential election."
He was referring to last year’s re-election of President Hamed Karzai after a vote that was widely seen as tainted by electoral fraud as well as a lack of security and a low voter turnout.
Mohammed made clear international criticism of that poll and demands for the commission to be purged of those who tolerated corruption have sunk in.
"After the presidential and provincial council election, the commission conducted some reforms which caused 6,000 election workers to be blacklisted by the commission. Besides, directors of the IEC in four provinces - Kandahar, Nangarhar, Ghazni and Paktika - have been removed and the reform is still in process. Meanwhile, some provincial and central workers of the commission have been suspended," he said.
He added that the commission would in future only hire individuals who are committed to the principles of the IEC, “The election commission of Afghanistan accepts and welcomes preconditions and suggestions that are necessary for reform and improvement of the process."
Karzai won the president election when his challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from the race after Karzai rejected his demands for action against the IEC, including removing its director, Azizollah Ludin.
The suspicion that foreign powers lie behind the postponement of the election is rooted in Afghanistan’s colonial past and the view that other countries have always interfered. Such countries – usually not named – want everything in Afghanistan to be organised in way that suits their interests, people believe.
The United States and Britain are the leading contributors of troops to the International Security Assistance Force, the UN-established, NATO-led security and development mission.
Nasir Ahmad Lotfi, a resident of the western province of Herat, believes that foreign powers do not respect the laws of Afghanistan, "[The postponement] has been done by [them], because they want to send individuals to the parliament who will do their bidding. They want to achieve their aims this way.
"The support of some western countries for the postponement of the parliamentary election shows their level of respect for the Afghan constitution."
Homayun Azizi, a former speaker of the provincial council in Herat, told IWPR, “Some western countries present in Afghanistan want to create a weak and semi-legitimate parliament the same as they have created a weak government. The state will be forced to accept whatever the foreigners want until they have achieved their goals.”
Others are critical of the authorities for the election delay.
Golsum Sediqi, director of a women lawyers association in western Afghanistan, says officials cannot expect people and institutions to respect the constitution and other laws anymore, because they have violated the law by delaying the ballot.
"Breaking the law by officials has caused great damage to the government, because it means the Taleban, which is the biggest opposition group and itself violates the constitution, has achieved its goal. The government will not be able to tell the opposition to accept the constitution anymore, because the government itself has broken the law. Now, the government should not expect the Taleban to agree with it."
Basir Begzad, who is standing in the parliamentary election for Herat province, also questions the commission’s stated reasons for the postponement and says it amounts to a flagrant breach of the constitution.
"The election commission is to blame in this regard, because it has not been able to fulfil the demands of the international community, which has caused the international community to stop cooperation with the commission," he said.
Mohammad Rafiq Shahir, a director of the Experts' Council in Herat province, says Karzai is mainly to blame for the postponement.
"First, President Hamed Karzai violated the law during the second presidential election of Afghanistan which promoted the culture of violation of the law in the country ... he wants to place individuals in the future parliament who agree with his decisions,” he said.
Herat journalist Wali Mohammad Hadid believes them president imposed the delay in order to organise the parliamentary election to suit himself. He also feels Karzai will oppose the removal of senior IEC officials.
"High-ranking commission officials have done a great service during the presidential election for Hamed Karzai. Karzai does not want to remove them from their positions. For this reason, he postponed the election so that he will be able to hold the election the way he wishes,” he said.
Asked about the allegations against the president, Siamak Herawi, his deputy spokesman, said, “The claims made by ordinary people and analysts are their own opinions and democracy gives them the chance to express their views but they are not based on the truth. The truth was the lack of budget, bad security and other problems caused the elections to be delayed.
“The president has never interfered in the work of the electoral commission and has respected the decisions made by the commission. The president has always been independent and has never been influenced by foreigners in making decisions.
“We faced many problems in the past [presidential] elections due to the interference by foreigners. In the upcoming [parliamentary] elections foreigners will be given the right to act only as observers and they will not be given any right to interfere in our electoral affairs."
Shapoor Saber is an IWPR trainee in Herat.
