Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: election

election

Before Election Day Three: Looking at Kandahar’s upcoming vote

Martine van Bijlert •

Tomorrow, on 27 October 2018, Kandahar will vote in the country’s parliamentary election – a week later than the rest of the country. The delay comes after the assassination of, among others, the province’s police chief and strongman Abdul Razeq on 18 October 2018. The IEC has tried to remedy the problems that plagued the […]

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Women voters standing in the queue outside the polling stations to vote during the second day of the Afghan parliamentary elections on 21 October 2018. Photo Photo: Ali Yawar Adili

Election Day Two: A first hand account of the trials and chaos of second-day voting

Ali Yawar Adili •

The parliamentary election that was finally held after a three and half year delay, was meant to end the extra-constitutionality of the legislature and boost the legitimacy of the state. New anti-fraud measures were put in place to ensure transparent elections, but they were poorly prepared and implemented. Now, after two days of voting, the […]

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A voter in Paktika province being ‘biometrically verified’. Across the country, the new procedure caused problems and delays (Photo: Fazal Muzhary)

Election Day One (Evening Update): Voter determination and technical shambles

AAN Team • Kate Clark • Thomas Ruttig •

In our first update of the day, AAN reported on the mixed turnout – far higher in the cities and other secure places and lower in districts where the Taleban could close roads and prevent voting. Those determined to vote faced not only Taleban violence, but also many technical problems and late-opening polling centres. In […]

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Afghanistan Elections Conundrum (20): Women candidates going against the grain

Jelena Bjelica • Rohullah Sorush •

On 20 October, more than 400 female candidates will compete for the 68 parliamentary seats reserved for women. Many more women – there are over three million registered female voters – will cast their votes on Saturday, in an attempt to have their say on who represents them in the lower house of the parliament. […]

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Afghanistan Election Conundrum (19): A young ‘wave of change’ for the Wolesi Jirga?

AAN Team • Thomas Ruttig •

Afghanistan’s parliamentary election campaign ended on Wednesday 17 October 2018 with the killing of Helmand candidate Jabbar Qahraman by a mine explosion in his campaign office – the fifth candidate killed during the campaign period. “Taghir” – change – has been a key word in many of the campaigns and a hope expressed by many […]

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The Afghanistan Election Conundrum (8): Controversies over voter registration

Ali Yawar Adili • Thomas Ruttig •

As the Independent Election Commission (IEC) struggles to prepare for parliamentary and district council elections due to be held on 20 October 2018, one key prerequisite – voter registration – is not going well. Registration turnout, so far, has been very low, in part, due to security fears stemming from a new system aimed at […]

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Thematic Dossier XIX: Political Parties in Afghanistan

AAN Team •

The years since 2001 constitute the longest period in Afghanistan’s history during which political parties have been able to operate openly. For the first time parties are fully legal. Despite many shortcomings, they have become a reality within the polity of current-day Afghanistan. This political parties dossier compiles all AAN dispatches and reports that deal […]

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Entrance to the main polling centre for men in Gardez city during the 2009 presidential elections. Photo: Thomas Ruttig 2009.

The Afghanistan Election Conundrum (7): A deficient polling centre assessment

Ali Yawar Adili •

A fundamental question ahead of any Afghan election is where polling centres are located. In the past, they have been located in ways that deliberately disenfranchised some voters. New regulations designed to prevent this are aimed at making sure locations are ‘balanced’, ie there are now strict criteria which should ensure centres are near voters, […]

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IEC along with some ECC members announce a delay in parliamentary and district council elections, setting 20 October 2018 as the new date.

Afghanistan Election Conundrum (6): Another new date for elections

Ali Yawar Adili •

The Independent Election Commission has set 20 October 2018 as the new date for Afghanistan’s parliamentary and district council elections. This comes after two earlier dates were missed. The Commission has also announced that it will start to register voters on Saturday, 14 April 2018. As AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili reports, though, the later date […]

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12 new electoral commissioners (seven for the IEC and five for the EEC), sworn into office on 22 November 2017, are now facing demands for their dismissal. IEC chairman Najibullah Ahmadzai (second from the left) has already been dismissed. Photo: Presidential Palace

AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili discusses the preparations for the elections in Afghanistan. Episode: 2 – March 2018

Ali Yawar Adili •

AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili discusses the various dynamics related to the preparation of elections in Afghanistan.  

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Sayed Hafizullah Hashemi, who has been appointed as the new member of the IEC, is being interviewed by a panel led by President Ghani. The interview was conducted at the presidential palace on 13 January 2018 when Hashemi picked.

Afghanistan Election Conundrum (4): New controversies surrounding the appointment of a new electoral commissioner

Ali Yawar Adili •

The need to appoint a new member of the IEC came after its chairman, Najibullah Ahmadzai, was sacked by President Ashraf Ghani on 15 November 2017. The president ordered the Selection Committee, a body responsible for shortlisting candidates for membership of the IEC and ECC, to be reconvened. The body shortlisted three candidates, from which […]

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During the previous elections in Afghanistan, the IEC's temporary electoral staff was hired from the open job market through a process of staggered recruitment. In the next election, according to the new electoral law, the temporary staff will be drawn from among the government's teachers, professors and other employees. Picture: Martine van Bijlert, 2014.

Afghanistan’s Incomplete New Electoral Law: Changes and controversies

Ali Yawar Adili • Martine van Bijlert •

Afghanistan’s new electoral law has come into force, which means that the requirement of electoral reform ahead of the next elections has – at least nominally – been met. AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili and Martine van Bijlert discuss the main features of the new law and note that the most controversial and complicated changes have been passed on […]

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