29.10.2003 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Regional military commanders and troops threatening loya jirga or "grand council" candidates and regional representatives, issuing death threats, and nominating themselves for the loya jirga ("Death Threats Imperil Constitutional Drafting Process") [#17213],  [ID 394]

Document(s): Open document

02.10.2003 - Source: UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan

UNAMA: Constitutional Loya Jirga process: countrywide registration of district representatives who will elect delegates for the Constitutional Loya Jirga (CLJ) officially began on 28 September in most of the provinces of Afghanistan ("Update on the Constitutional Loya Jirga Process") [#28918],  [ID 395]

"The countrywide registration of district representatives who will elect delegates for the Constitutional Loya Jirga (CLJ) officially began on 28 September in most of the provinces of Afghanistan with the exception of the Eastern Region, which began yesterday.

As you will recall Kunduz, began ahead of schedule on 22 September and 99 per cent (451 of the 455 voters) of the expected voters were registered. Those registered will now proceed in November to the regional elections, which will choose regional delegates for the CLJ convention slated for December.

In Samangan in the north the registration process went relatively smoothly and 79 out of an expected 103 district representatives were registered. In Takhar in the northeast 576 out the expected 649 were registered of that total 546 were men and 30 were women. Some 700 out of 788 voters were registered in Khost in the southeast without any security problems. In the Eastern region the registration process is progressing without interruption in Badghis -- we will give you figures when we receive them along with figures and breakdowns of other areas as the information comes in.

In addition over 15,000 lbs. of Public Education material (posters, leaflets, booklets, magazines) have been distributed to 8 regional centres."

Document(s): Open document

07.03.2003 - Source: Danish Immigration Service

Problems creating a balance of the political power of the various ethnic groups ("The Political, Security and Human Rights Situation in Afghanistan: Report on fact-finding mission to Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan and Islamabad, Pakistan; 22 September - 5 October 2002") [#11326],  [ID 396]

"The coordinator of UNAMA's Civil Affairs branch found that the Bonn Agreement had resulted in a government with a strong representation of Pansjir-Tajiks. According to this source, the Loya Jirga in June 2002 should have attempted to create a balance of the political power of the various ethnic groups, but that did not happen. Preparations for the Loya Jirga were inadequate. One week before the Loya Jirga, there had been no discussions and no tactical concept of the issues to be achieved.
On the first day of the Loya Jirga, the former king withdrew his candidature for the leadership as a result of American pressure. Younis Qanooni, a Tajik and a representative for the Northern Alliance7, then resigned from the position of Minister of the Interior. Thus, both sides of the political leadership stepped back and opened the way for a discussion to take place, but this opportunity was not seized. On the second day of the Loya Jirga, Karzai was re-elected as President with a landslide victory. The following days of the Loya Jirga turned into political chaos, as the chairman (the leader of the Loya Jirga-commission) was incapable of conducting the
meeting, and there were no instructions from Karzai as to meeting guidelines. Discussions took place for several days on a range of different issues, including the procedures for electing the national assembly, without achieving any concrete results. On the last day of the Loya Jirga, Karzai
presented a list of ministers, comprising the old Mujaheddin-leaders, including the Pansjiris. According to the source, Karzai omitted to take the opportunity to stipulate that in future the political rules had to be more democratic.
Accordingly, the Loya Jirga ended up giving increased legitimacy to the old Mujaheddin-leaders. The position of Minister of the Interior was given to a Pashtun who, according to the source, is considered to be a weak elderly man, and as such the control of the armed forces, security and the police is still with the Pansjiris, according to the source. The outcome is an underdeveloped state, in control of Kabul but not much more.
A Western diplomat pointed out that after the Loya Jirga in June 2002 many Afghans had expressed frustration at the process, both as regards the election to the Loya Jirga and also that there had been
no leverage on the decisions made at the Loya Jirga. Most of the decisions had been made outside the meeting. According to the diplomat, there are primarily two large groups involved in the political process. Firstly, there is a group of predominantly Islamites who have been living in Afghanistan and the neighbouring countries for a long time, and secondly a group who have lived a long time in Western countries. It is a very difficult task to make these two groups function in unison. The first group - the Islamites - are presently controlling the armed forces in Afghanistan, whereas the second group is more liberal and supports free and just elections. In addition to this,
the current political situation in Afghanistan is characterized by the issue of ethnicity, which in turn affects the leaders in power."

Document(s): Open document

30.07.2002 - Source: International Crisis Group

International Crisis Group: Analysis of the proceedings and outcome of the loya Jirgah ("Afghanistan Briefing Paper: The Afghan Transitional Administration: Prospects and Perils") [#8257],  [ID 397]

Document(s): Open document

30.07.2002 - Source: International Crisis Group

International Crisis Group: Debate on National Assembly put off for further discussion in a special Commission ("Afghanistan Briefing Paper: The Afghan Transitional Administration: Prospects and Perils") [#8257],  [ID 399]

"Immediately after election of the head of state, delegates expected to debate the structure of the Transitional Administration but President Karzai failed to seize the initiative and present proposals so several days of spirited but chaotic debate ensued over proposals from the floor. […] The most contentious element concerned the creation and powers of a Shura-i-Milli, or national assembly, which, as suggested by Qasimyar, would have been authorised to establish laws, approve budgets, and print money, among other matters.
For two days, the powers and composition of the Shura-i-Milli were the subject of heated debate. […] The fundamental issue at stake was whether each province should be represented equally, or delegates should be chosen proportional to population. Predictably, arguments were largely self-interested, based on whether a particular group felt that it would benefit. Ethnic-divisions, which the Loya Jirga organisers had thus far managed to suppress, began to emerge. Most Pashtun speakers supported equal representation per province, an arrangement widely believed to provide more seats for Pashtuns.
Similarly, most non-Pashtun speakers supported proportional representation. At the end of the second day of debate, President Karzai’s advisors became nervous. After his overwhelming victory, they feared that the proposed Shura-i-Milli threatened to undermine his executive authority and could prove unwieldy and divisive. Arguing that a national assembly was not contemplated at Bonn, the debate raised constitutional issues the Emergency Loya Jirga was not authorised to decide, and it was Karzai’s prerogative to propose the structure of the Transitional Administration, his aides managed to kill the debate and scheduled vote on the Shura-i- Milli. The question of a future national assembly was put off for further discussion in a National Assembly Commission to be formed sometime in the future. The heart of the democratic experience – an open debate on a contentious issue – had proven too dangerous and unpredictable."

Document(s): Open document

30.07.2002 - Source: International Crisis Group

ICG: Presence of National Security Directorate (NSD) allowed complete access to Loya Jirgah site despite its history of oppression ("Afghanistan Briefing Paper: The Afghan Transitional Administration: Prospects and Perils") [#8257],  [ID 401]

"A second decision, more surprising given Afghanistan’s recent history, further compromised delegates’ ability to participate openly in the Loya Jirga. Just days before the assembly convened, the ministries of defence and interior succeeded – with UN acquiescence – in having the internal intelligence branch provide “security”. The National Security Directorate (NSD), formerly known as “Khad”, has been controlled and staffed by the Panjshiri Shura-i-Nizar since the capture of Kabul. Since the Soviet invasion, the secret police have been a key tool of repression. While the agency’s name has changed several times, many personnel and tactics have remained the same. Indeed, security branch reform emerged as a Karzai priority. Nonetheless, security agents were allowed complete access to the site, and delegates and international observers alike complained of being monitored, and even warned, by them. Attempts by the UN, several days into the meeting, to have the agents removed were largely unsuccessful."

Document(s): Open document

20.06.2002 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch: New cabinet differs only slightly from interim administration ("Analysis of New Cabinet: Warlords Emerge from Loya Jirga More Powerful Than Ever") [#7516],  [ID 398]

Many delegates representing civil society told Human Rights Watch that they had been excluded from any real decision-making. As the loya jirga nears its end, they expressed fears about the resurgent power of the warlords who were active, and at time abusive, participants in the loya jirga process. "Afghanistan's warlords are stronger today then they were ten days ago before the loya jirga started," said Saman Zia-Zarifi, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch. (…)

"The cabinet just named by Hamid Karzai, head of the transitional government, differs only slightly from that of the interim administration. The predominantly Tajik Jamiat-e Islami party holds three key cabinet posts while the Shi'a Hazara party, Hizb-e Wahdat, gained a seat. Both parties have been implicated in the recent attacks on ethnic Pashtun civilians in northern Afghanistan following the collapse of the Taliban. Jamiat has also been involved in an ongoing conflict with General Abdul Rashid Dostum's Junbish party in northern Afghanistan, where the fighting and general insecurity has imperiled international humanitarian aid operations. The appointment of Fazul Hadi Shinwari to the post of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court also raises serious human rights concerns. Shinwari was quoted in press interviews in January as saying that Shari'a punishments including stoning and amputation would be retained, albeit with stricter due process guarantees than under the Taliban. His position contradicted Karzai's assertion during a visit to the United States that same month that Shari'a punishments could only be imposed in a society in which social justice and freedom from hunger prevailed.
Karzai did not announce who would lead the Ministry for Women's Affairs. Given the history of discrimination that Afghan women have suffered and the continuing insecurity in the country, this ministry is key to promoting and achieving Afghan women's rights."

Document(s): Open document

14.06.2002 - Source: Washington Post

Washington Post: Karzai elected President of Transitional Authority with overwhelming majority ("Afghan Assembly Elects Karzai") [#8044],  [ID 400]

"Hamid Karzai, the ethnic Pashtun leader who has led Afghanistan's interim administration for the past six months, was overwhelmingly elected tonight by a national assembly to become transitional head of state for the next 18 months to two years. Karzai, 44, received 1,295 of a possible 1,575 votes cast by members of the assembly, known as a loya jirga. The assembly had been widely expected to elect him after his main potential rival, former Afghan king Mohammed Zahir Shah, repeatedly endorsed Karzai over the past several days. Two last-minute challengers -- Masooda Jalal, a physician and women's activist, and Mir Mahfooz Nedai, a scientist and deputy government minister -- won 171 and 89 votes, respectively, after announcing their candidacies at the loya jirga this morning. Twenty votes were declared invalid."

Document(s): Open document

07.06.2002 - Source: BBC News

BBC: Loya Jirgah delegates to convene in Kabul Polytechnic between 10 -16 June ("Afghanistan's loya jirga") [#7418],  [ID 402]

"The first post-Taleban national assembly in Afghanistan, the loya jirga, is to convene in a giant tent in the grounds of Kabul Polytechnic on Monday, 10 June, and last until 16 June. (…) The chairman of the commission for the convocation of the loya jirga, Ismail Qasemyar, said initially that 1,500 delegates would take part, of whom 1,051 would be elected through the ballot box. The remaining 449 delegates would be appointed by social, cultural and religious foundations. No comprehensive breakdown of seats has been given. Following the latest changes, the approximate breakdown will be:
160 for women
25 for nomads and six for internally displaced people
70 for Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan and 30 for Afghan refugees in other countries
114 for academic and cultural institutions, and social organisations
26 for religious scholars and other leading personalities in Afghan society
Four for religious minorities - two for Sikhs and two for Hindus."

Document(s): Open document