Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
AT-KABUL: Vice president of New Front of Afghanistan political party and former deputy minister of higher education, ministry Sadiq Patman claimed the Unity Government is not willing to hold transparent electoral process in the country and the Election Commission has not required capability.
Patman, as a keynote speaker made the remarks in his lecture to Rana Think Tank monthly session, attended by a number of professors, journalists and civil society activists. He expressed his deepest concerns over the prevailing situations in the country and urged the government and the international community to come up to the fore and go through the voices and aspirations of Afghan masses and make them a part in policy making decisions.
Highlighting the incompetency and zero will by the government and insecurity in the country, he said holding fair and transparent elections would not be an easy task.
Referring to the crisis in previous elections, Patman said Afghanistan is lacking of a stable and transparent system of electoral process, adding free and fair elections could not be possible in the absence of a transparent system.
He slammed the government for its wrong claims that the current crisis in the country is a part of legacy of the past government, adding the unity government has no intention to introduce a transparent electoral system.
He suggested an interim administrative set up to be installed in the country after the tenure of NUG to reform electoral system, the country’s laws and system. Elaborating his suggestion he said the head and other members of the interim administration and their ultimate job should be confined to be done in a specific duration of time, adding the members of interim set up should not be given opportunity to take part in next general elections.
Patman further went on saying that the interim administration should be mandated to frame and reform the existing laws and system to be based on the country’s needs and aspirations of the Afghan masses.
Responding to a question, he noted holding elections for the Parliament, district councils and the Presidential Palace is not possible at a time, adding the government is running on lies and deceit and not willing to hold transparent elections.
Supposed if the government is going to conduct the general elections for the Parliament, district councils and the country’s Presidency at a time, he claimed it could add to political instability, adding the county would embrace unpredictable crisis and their worst consequences, if a panel in the elections was denied comfortable representation and the other one is providing an opportunity to score clean sweep in all the three elections.
Patman said his country’s constitution is one among the best as compared to constitutions of other countries. “There are weaknesses in the constitutions, needs to be removed after debating it in Loya Jirga,” he remarked.
Patman said the country’s constitution was drafted and legislated at a time when there was complete peace in the country, adding required solutions to the current crisis in the country were not predicted and covered at the time of framing constitution. He stressed on a technical commission to be announced to review the constitution and seek favorable solutions to the current crisis and all sorts of emergency situations.
He said since the establishment of NUG, the system of the country has been confronting with challenges, adding government, parliament have zero constitutional legitimacy and the judicial organs have been voted and authorized by the illegitimate parliament. He termed the nature of crisis over much “complicated.”
He said the fundamental problem of the unity government leadership is their dependency on continued lies and deceit with the general public. He said the government has turned blind eye over the ongoing heart-wrenching problems in the country.
“Interference by foreign countries in the internal affairs of the country is touching sky,” Patman claimed, adding “Traditional Loya Jirga is only remedy to put an end to all problems and lead the country towards better future.”
He said the unity government is being involved in tribal and racial division of the country. He said the five leaders in the unity government could not be authorized to represent the whole Pashtun nation in the country; he disowned all the wrongdoings by the leadership of the government. He claimed the five Pashtun leaders in the government have been committing wrongdoings for their individual political interests and private business. He said the government leadership has no productive issues for their political survival, and that’s why they are being engaged in tribal and racial crisis which endangers the national unity and solidarity.
With recent weeks, a sense of worry surged up for no clear and final decision to hold transparent elections in the country. Politicians, media and civil society have expressed their concerns about the unclear policies of the government and slow process of the execution in the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and disagreement among the members of the commission when it comes to a number of issues. It’s the fundamental and constitutional responsibility of the government to resolve crisis and overcome all challenged faced by the elections to be held for the national parliament and district councils.
