The Diplomat, 28 November 2016
In this article about the Afghan parliament dismissing seven ministers, the analysis of AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted:
As Thomas Ruttig notes in his analysis for the Afghanistan Analysts Network, there are several levels of conflict involved. There’s the overarching conflict between President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, and likewise their allies throughout the government. Then there’s the conflict between government branches — the parliament seems poised to adhere to the constitution while the National Unity Government persists outside such bounds of such paper-based legitimacy. In addition, political fractures within specific parties — in this case Jamiat — are not new features to Afghan politics but can be nonetheless disruptive.
Ruttig lists the ministers and who nominated them. In sum, three ministers nominated by Abdullah were dismissed and four who had been nominated by Ghani. The NUG, in splitting the top authority in the country, also sought to appoint a balance of ministers. It seems parliament was cognizant of that balance in its firing.
(…) As Ruttig notes, should the Afghan Supreme Court side with Ghani and set aside the dismissals, the parliament will have even less motivation to work with the executive branch on the important business of government.
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 9 Mar 2020
