Showing posts with label Afghan-governance-news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Afghan-governance-news. Show all posts

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Afghan Governance and Politics



Parliamentary Elections Delayed? The ability of the Afghan government to conduct a national election that is secure, on schedule, and corruption free appears to be far in the future. Despite having conducted a number of country-wide elections the Afghans still are suffering growing pains. Apparently, the parliamentary elections scheduled for mid-2018 will be delayed at least three months. If not held in the fall then the election date will slip to mid-2019. See "Afghanistan parliament elections likely delayed until October", Reuters, February 4, 2018.

Elections and Electronic Identity Cards. A very expensive plan to issue new electronic identity cards ahead of the parliamentary elections to be held in Afghanistan in mid-summer 2018 is raising political tension. Leading figures in some ethnic groups are rejecting the term "Afghan" on the ID card. The term 'Afghan' is closely associated with 'Pashtun'; and other ethnic groups (Tajiks, Hazara, Uzbeks, and others) are taking exception to it. The ID cards, known as e-Tazkira, are viewed as important in the electoral process - a step to avoid fraud in the parliamentary elections for 2018 and presidential elections for 2019. Read more in "Who is an Afghan? Row over ID cards fuels ethnic tension", Reuters.com, February 8, 2018.

Warlords and Governance. The Afghan government is by all accounts - very dysfunctional. One of the factors causing major problems in Afghan governance is the influence of powerful warlords. A seminar on this topic will be held in Norway in March 2018. (Prio).

Gov Noor for President? Atta Mohammad Noor was fired by President Ghani from his job as governor of Balkh province - but he still occupies the office while his appointed replacement works from an office in Kabul. Noor is using the political crisis to position himself for a run for the presidency in the 2019 presidential elections. (Daily Mail, Feb 5, 2018).


Sunday, November 19, 2017

Afghan Governance News

CEO Visits U.S. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah, paid a visit to the United States in November 2017 While in the U.S. Dr. Abdullah met with the U.S. National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster - discussing the mentoring, training, and equipping of the Afghan security forces. Read more here (Voice of America, Nov 15, 2017).

RoL Discussion. On November 8th, Ambassador (former) Karl Eikeberry visited Stanford Law School to share his perspective on the new U.S. policies toward Afghanistan. (SLS Blog, Nov 18, 2017).

Loya Jirga? Former President Hamid Karzai has said that Afghanistan should convene a Loya Jirga to consolidate and strengthen national consensus and to get the country out of its current security and political crisis. But . . . current President Ashraf Ghani says "not so much". Read "Calls for Loya Jirga Contravenes the Law: ARG", Tolo News, November 16, 2017.

IEC Chairman Fired. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fired Najibullah Ahmadzai, the chairman of the country's Independent Election Commission, on Wednesday, November 15th. The move raises concerns over whether the parliamentary and council elections scheduled for 2018 will take place. Presidential elections are scheduled for 2019 and the 2018 parliamentary elections were seen as a 'dry run'. International donor countries are placing heavy pressure on running safe and legitimate elections. Five members of the seven-member IEC wrote to Ghani this week accusing Ahmadzai of incompetence. (Reuters, Nov 15, 2017).


Sunday, November 20, 2016

Afghan Governance News


The National Unity Government (NUG) has struggled to provide good governance at the national and sub-national level. Most observers would say that NUG has failed over the past two years. Its ministries are lacking good leadership and the Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) are still burdened with too many general officers who are inept, incompetent, and very corrupt. When the NUG does agree on ministerial level appointments the Afghan parliament steps in to stir the pot. So we have a national government with legitimacy problems, a sub-national government system that does not deliver the needed government services, ministries that are lacking good leaders, and a parliament with a grudge. This past week the Afghan parliament dismissed six ministers and is reviewing several more. Certainly a recipe for disaster. Read more in "Afghan Parliament Goes on a Firing Spree", The Diplomat, by Catherine Putz, November 15, 2016.