Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: Elections

Elections

10 days 15 hours, 35 minutes and 13 seconds to go: The IEC's count down to the 20 October 2018 parliamentary elections in Afghanistan. Source: Screenshot from the IEC website, at the time of uploading this dispatch

Afghanistan Election Conundrum (16): Basic facts about the parliamentary elections

AAN Team • Thomas Ruttig •

Afghanistan’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has posted a clock on its home page that counts down the time remaining until the 20 October parliamentary election (minus Ghazni province). That’s a nice gag. It would also have been good if a counter had been provided to show, for example, the total number of registered voters (on its […]

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Supporters of some disqualified candidates including MullahTarakhel and Zardad Faryadi shut down the IEC headquarters in Kabul from 13 to 25 August in protest against the ECC’s decision to debar them from standing in 20 October elections. Photo credit: Tolonews

Afghanistan Election Conundrum (15): A contested disqualification of candidates

Ali Yawar Adili •

The campaign by more than 2,600 candidates to secure votes in the Afghan parliamentary elections is in full swing, for over a week now. 35 would-be MPs, however, are not running. They have been barred from standing by the Electoral Complaints Commission, chiefly for ties to illegal armed groups. In this piece, AAN’s Ali Yawar […]

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On 29 August, the IEC reported that it had designed the ballot papers for 20 October poll and sent it to Dubai for printing. But no ballots designed for district council elections and Ghazni parliamentary elections. Photo: IEC.

Afghanistan Election Conundrum (14): District council and Ghazni parliamentary elections quietly dropped

Ali Yawar Adili •

It has emerged that, without any announcement or formal decision taken, district council elections and Wolesi Jirga elections in Ghazni will not be taking place as planned on 20 October. A special committee of senior government officials had been tasked in early August to rule on an IEC proposal to delay both elections. It has […]

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Afghanistan Election Conundrum (13): New voter registry too good to be true

Scott Warden •

One of the main goals of Afghanistan launching a new voter registration process – a key provision of the 2014 National Unity Government Agreement – was to more accurately match the number of ballot papers to the number of voters in any given area. It was hoped this would reduce the opportunities for ballot stuffing. […]

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The Afghanistan Election Conundrum (12): Good news and bad news about district numbers

Thomas Ruttig •

Afghan authorities have solved one of the most long-standing and consequential problems in the country‘s complex election system: the number of districts. It is 387. This is pending a final decision by parliament, as there are some so-called ‘temporary’ districts that could boost the number. If parliament takes this issue up, however, there is a […]

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Afghanistan Election Conundrum (11): Electoral reform and the preparations for the 2018 elections – a summary

Ali Yawar Adili •

Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for 20 October this year, three and a half years late. They were delayed so that the electoral system could be reformed – although what that delay achieved in terms of reforms, is questionable. The country’s first district elections are also still scheduled for the same day, although the Independent Election Commission […]

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Thematic Dossier XX: Electoral reform and the preparations for the 2018 elections

AAN Team •

Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for 20 October this year, three and a half years late. They were delayed so that the electoral system could be reformed – although what that delay achieved in terms of reforms, is questionable. The country’s first district elections are also still scheduled for the same day, although the Independent Election Commission […]

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Afghanistan Election Conundrum (10): Failure to hold the first ever district council elections?

Ali Yawar Adili •

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) has proposed a delay in the district council elections, citing a lack of candidates. According to a report from the body, only a tenth of the country’s districts have enough male and female candidates to compete. The IEC listed several reasons as to why so few people wanted to stand: […]

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The IEC office in Ghazni city remained closed from 28 April to 27 June. A banner hanged by protesters on its gate says: “We Ghazni people do not want the bitter disaster of the past to be repeated in the Wolesi Jirga elections.”

The Afghanistan Election Conundrum (9): The 2010 Ghazni spectre rears its head again

Ali Yawar Adili •

Protests continue in front of the Independent Election Commission’s office in Ghazni, though it was able to reopen on 27 June following a 63-day sit-in protest at its gates that shut it down, stymying election preparations throughout the province. This comes despite the IEC’s legally problematic about-face to split Ghazni province’s electoral constituencies for the […]

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Chai ne-khorda, solh ne-mesha. Photo: Thomas Ruttig

Understanding Hurdles to Afghan Peace Talks: Are the Taleban a political party?

Khalilullah Safi • Thomas Ruttig •

Following his February 2018 offer of peace talks to the Taleban, President Ashraf Ghani proposed that they run as a political party in the upcoming elections. In 2011, his predecessor, Hamed Karzai, had offered something different, that the government would support the Taleban’s recognition by the United Nations Security Council as a “party to the […]

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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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