Senators call for announcement of Parliamentary election date

A number of Afghan senators in Afghan Senate called for the announcement of Parliamentary election date.

The Senators criticized the proposals of Election Reforms Commission (ERC), saying this process is extremely time-consuming and postpones the parliamentary elections.

“The concerning issue is the date of holding Parliamentary election. The reforms process is time-consuming. Election is the principle of democracy,” Gul Ahmad Azami, Afghan Senator said.

Meanwhile, Jumaulddin Geyanwal, another senator said, “President Ghani agrees with seven proposals of ERC but we do not accept any of them because they are all contrary to the constitutions.”

“Reforming the electoral system was a need that the fraud and irregularities eliminates and transparency creates,” Muhammad Alam Izad Yar, first deputy speaker of Senate said.

Under Article 83 of the Constitution, the parliament term ends after the disclosure of election results on the 1st of Saratan (22 June) of the 5th legislative year and the new parliament commences work.

Based on the article, parliamentary polls should have been held by now, but the Independent Election Commission (IEC) had cited lack of funds for delaying the vote.

Further complicating matters, a delay in holding elections will not only raise questions about the legitimacy of Parliament’s authority, but it will also likely push back the schedule for the Loya Jirga national unity government leaders agreed to convene within a year of the 2014 presidential election.

The Loya Jirga was a central part of the agreement that brought President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah together, intended to provide the venue for bringing changes to the Afghan Constitution that would restructure the government in a way that would decentralize authority and provide better conditions for power-sharing between key interest groups. But until district shuras determined, the Loya Jirga cannot be held.

This comes as the Election Reforms Commission has presented a ten proposals package to the government which of the ten, seven of them has been accepted by president Ghani.