Statement on Preparations for Parliamentary
Elections
Released by the Office of the Spokesman to the President Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan
02/26/2005
Presidential Palace, Kabul -Following is
the statement of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
regarding preparations for the upcoming parliamentary elections:
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
is committed to the holding of credible parliamentary elections
as soon as possible. The date of the elections will be determined
by the Joint Electoral Management Body, which is tasked with
holding the elections and consists of members of the Independent
Electoral Commission and the United Nations.
The Government is providing full support to the
JEMB so that adequate preparations are in place for the parliamentary
elections. The fact that thousands of candidates are expected
to contest parliamentary elections in multiple constituencies
makes the parliamentary elections a complex undertaking.
The JEMB made a presentation to the Cabinet during
its February 14 meeting on the status of the preparation of
the elections and requested Cabinet's decisions on a number
of issues, including the electoral system, constituency boundaries,
population figures and participation of Kuchis and refugees
in the elections.
In the same meeting, the Cabinet affirmed the
electoral system under the Electoral Law which provides a voter
the opportunity to vote directly to the candidate of his or
her choice. On the constituency boundaries, the Cabinet noted
that there were significant number of disputes about the number
and boundaries of districts. In light of Article 90 of the Constitution,
the Cabinet decided that the issue will be referred to the Wolesi
Jirga for resolution. Meanwhile the Cabinet requested the advisory
opinion of the Supreme Court with regard to the constitutional
implications of the matter. On refugees, the Cabinet decided
that they should be provided the opportunity to participate
in the elections and requested the JEMB to make a presentation
on the operational feasibility of it next time. Finally, the
Cabinet established a special committee to study options for
population figures and the number of seats for Kuchis.
The next Cabinet meeting on February 28 will study
the report of the special committee on the population figures
and Kuchis, the Advisory Opinion of the Supreme Court with regard
to district shura elections, and the operational plan for participation
of refugees in the parliamentary elections.
The Government hopes that decision on these issues
will pave the way for the JEMB to declare the date of the parliamentary
elections soon.
