July 29, 2010
Abdul Halim Achakzai
Introduction
The parliamentary election in Afghanistan is scheduled to take place on 18th September 2010. It will be the second time Afghans will have the opportunity to go to polling stations and elect their candidates to represent them in Wolesi Jirga (lower house of the parliament). The Afghan constitution prescribes the general election for Wolesi Jirga to be held every five years across the country. According to article 83 of the Constitution, the number of seats allocated to each province is based on the proportion of population in that given province and the parliament has 250 seats in Afghanistan. However, in reality, the allocation of seats is a very controversial issue since a country wide census in Afghanistan has not been conducted since 1979, and therefore the district boundaries in some of the newly created provinces such as Day Kundi & Panjshir remain undetermined. In addition to the aforementioned factors, insecurity, fraud and intimidation of locals by illegal armed groups in certain provinces is another challenge that has created doubts over how free or fair the elections will be this year. (Full Artical, file type (Pdf) 111 KB)
Abdul Halim Achakzai
Introduction
The parliamentary election in Afghanistan is scheduled to take place on 18th September 2010. It will be the second time Afghans will have the opportunity to go to polling stations and elect their candidates to represent them in Wolesi Jirga (lower house of the parliament). The Afghan constitution prescribes the general election for Wolesi Jirga to be held every five years across the country. According to article 83 of the Constitution, the number of seats allocated to each province is based on the proportion of population in that given province and the parliament has 250 seats in Afghanistan. However, in reality, the allocation of seats is a very controversial issue since a country wide census in Afghanistan has not been conducted since 1979, and therefore the district boundaries in some of the newly created provinces such as Day Kundi & Panjshir remain undetermined. In addition to the aforementioned factors, insecurity, fraud and intimidation of locals by illegal armed groups in certain provinces is another challenge that has created doubts over how free or fair the elections will be this year. (Full Artical, file type (Pdf) 111 KB)
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