Issue 05/10 AFGHANISTAN Developments in Governance & Participation 01 30 April 2010 Ann-Kristin Otto Governance & Participation KM (ann-kristin.otto@cimicweb.

b.org) (www.cimicweb.org)

04 May 2010

This document is intended to provide an overview of relevant Governance events in Afghanistan from 0130 April 2010. More comprehensive information is available on the Civil-Military Overview (CMO) at www.cimicweb.org.1 Hyperlinks to original source material are highlighted in blue and underlined in the embedded text.

TO RATE THIS PUBLICATION, CLICK HERE Parliamentary Elections Afghans Begin Preparations for Parliamentary Vote. Despite an unresolved legislative dispute between the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) and President Karzai over the changes to the electoral law, the countrys electoral bodies are moving towards the parliamentary elections scheduled for 18 September. A presidential decree introduced the changes to the law earlier this year but the decree was rejected by Members of Parliament (MPs) (refer to CFCs 08 April Afghanistan Review, Governance & Participation Section) while supported by the Meshrano Jirga (Upper House of Parliament). The row caused a complicated legal debate on whether or not the Wolesi Jirga had the constitutional right to reject the law. Reuters writes that the dispute between Karzai and Afghan lawmakers over the proposed changes to the electoral law remains unresolved and leaves several questions unanswered regarding Septembers voting process. Reuters quotes an IEC official saying that for the time being the electoral body was implementing the changes made by Karzais decree. During a session of the Wolesi Jirga on 17 April, MPs had urged a delay of the candidate registration process until the legal row was resolved, according to Pajhwok Afghan News. Martine van Bijlert of the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) writes that the Wolesi Jirga seems to have lost the battle with the Upper House and the presidential office and the changes were enacted without the parliaments approval. A report released by the US Department of Defense on 26 April notes that the electoral changes have the potential to complicate international oversight and fraud monitoring.2 After Hamid Karzai appointed new officials for both the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), as relayed by Pajhwok, Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Staffan de Mistura released a statement
1 2

A CMO user account is required to access some of the links in this document.

See Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, pg. 48.

recommending the international community release funds for the elections. De Mistura told journalists during a press conference on 17 April in Kabul that Karzai assured him that ECC decisions will be taken with the endorsement of at least one of the two newly appointed international ECC members and that the constitutionally guaranteed 68 seats for female candidates in parliament would not be filled by male candidates if left vacant. Candidate Registration Process Starts. On 20 April, the IEC launched the candidate nomination process for the elections, a press release announced. The candidate nomination timeline was extended by one day and will now run from 20 April through 05 May, an IEC press release on 29 April announced. Candidates must be Afghan citizens and are required to present at least 1,000 signed or fingerprinted supporter cards as well as resign from any government posts held. Women are specifically encouraged to apply, according to the IEC statement. Tolo TV reports that more than 1,000 candidates had registered by 29 April and the IEC reports that out of 1,024 registered candidates 150 were female and an equal 150 kuchis (nomads). During his introductory speech in Kabul, newly appointed IEC chairman Fazel Ahmad Manawi stressed the need for a secure environment in which elections can be held and called on the Afghan and international security forces to ensure security for the electoral process. Other IEC officials such as acting head of the IEC secretariat Zekriya Barakzai have expressed their concern about the volatile security ahead of the Afghan polls, Tolo TV reports. Recommendations for Electoral Reform. Democracy International (DI) conducted a comprehensive review and analysis of the Afghan electoral process and gathered recommendations of hundreds of stakeholders in the Afghan elections leading to a set of recommendations for electoral reform in Afghanistan. The 34 published recommendations constitute a consensus of 437 recommendations gathered from Afghan civil society organisations, international observer missions, assistance organisations and independent electoral experts, DI writes. The recommendations include the abolishment of the Single NonTransferable Vote (SNTV), a claim often voiced by electoral observation experts and several national and international organisations in order to strengthen the development of political parties in Afghanistan (refer to CFCs Governance Report 03/10). Other recommendations focus on the strengthening of both the IEC (through appointing its commissioners consultatively involving the Wolesi Jirga) and the ECC (by granting it a permanent status, securing its independence, providing it with necessary and timely funds). Among others, the DI report also calls on the IEC to ensure staff impartiality, act more transparently and reach out to marginalised populations in its recruitment process. The Pentagon report released on 26 April states that it is crucial that the upcoming parliamentary elections will be perceived as an improvement over the 2009 elections and that this will only be reached if measures are put in place to reduce fraud at the polling sites.3 An article by the Telegraph quotes an unpublished report by DI saying that widespread voter fraud was inevitable if the countrys electoral system does not undergo serious reform efforts. The report is quoted saying that cheating in the elections is now seen as the norm rather than the exception, and that parliamentary candidates were already preparing to buy votes. The Telegraph writes that international diplomats were already downplaying expectations for free and fair polls in September and that the Karzai administration has shown little effort to prevent a repeat of the fraud-ridden elections of August 2009.
3

See Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, pg. 48.

Sub-National Governance Cabinet Approves Sub-National Governance Policy. On 22 March the Afghan cabinet approved the new sub-national governance (SNG) policy, which had been in preparations since the fall of 2008. If enacted and fully implemented, the new policy will strengthen sub-national governance in Afghanistan by delegating more responsibility towards the provincial governors and provincial councils, introducing some basic elements for provincial budgeting and increasing public accountability. It clarifies the roles of all SNG actors and could lead to a better coordination within the provinces as well as between the provinces and the central government. The Independent Directorate for Local Governance (IDLG) spearheaded the effort laying out the challenges to enhance local governance and the strategies to draft the new SNG policy in a presentation given in July 2009. Strengthening districts and provinces as independent entities by providing them with budgetary powers was identified as one of the principle reform needs by the IDLG.4 The lack of budgetary powers leads to a centralised planning and budgeting process as well as the delivery of services being orchestrated from the central government level which contributes to a lack of accountability to the people, the IDLG presentation relays. Under the new policy, governors will have a formal lead coordinating role among government entities operating at the sub-national level encompassing provincial planning, budgeting, administration, development and security.5 Another significant change is the agreement that provincial governors, deputy governors and district governors will be appointed through a consultative process involving the Civil Service Commission6, fulfilling its role as defined through the Afghanistan Compact.7 The SNG policy also addresses questions of accountability (by introducing a code of conduct), de-concentration of authority (by delegating greater decisionmaking powers to the local level) and granting more budgetary powers to the local authorities. However, under the new SNG, provinces will not be independent budget entities, but will have a stronger role in deciding how central funds are being used in the provinces.8 The new policy is an important step towards greater SNG, which remains a crucial goal in the efforts to strengthen Afghan democracy. However, the new policy represents only a framework which will depend on its implementation requiring a series of new laws, regulations, procedures and government programmes.9
Please visit our CFC Governance & Participation Discussion Board.

The Civil Military Fusion Centre (CFC) is an Information and Knowledge Management organisation focused on improving civil-military interaction, facilitating information sharing and enhancing situational awareness through the web portal, the Civil-Military Overview. CFC products are produced from fused information from governmental organisations, non-governmental organisations, international organisations, academic institutions, media sources and military organisations. By design, CFC products or links to open sourced and independently produced articles do not necessarily represent the opinions, views or official positions of any other organisation.
4 5

See IDLG presentation, slide 4. See SNG policy, pg. 3 and 4. 6 In the SNG policy the Civil Service Commission is also referred to as the Senior Appointments Board. 7 For more information on the consultative appointments process, refer to SNG policy, pg. 17. 8 See SNG policy, pages 21 24. 9 See SNG policy, pg. 6.