Irreconcilable with democracy

On 23 June, hours after US President Barack Obama's announcement of the withdrawal of 30,000 US troops from Afghanistan, a controversial special-elections court in Afghanistan announced a series of rulings overturning the decisions of the independent electoral bodies that certified the 2010 parliamentary election results. The event received little attention in the tumult focusing on President Obama, his generals and Washingtonian politics. At one level, the special-court decision seemed logical – an election dogged by allegations of fraud, a special inquiry and the overturning of some results. Was this evidence of Afghanistan following due process and strengthening electoral democracy? Hardly. The special-court decision has resulted in the weakening of Parliament, currently the only national institution for participatory politics. The impact of this move, if left unresolved, could ultimately have far greater consequences for Afghanistan and its peace than those resulting from the US troop withdrawal.

A look at the composition of the 62 MPs who are sought to be replaced by another 62 contenders reveals little. In Afghanistan's party-less electoral system, no clear-cut difference exists between opposition and government. Nor do the names reveal any pattern of pro- or anti-government MPs. The move was not President Hamid Karzai's attempt to fill the Parliament with MPs loyal to him, but rather to make the House itself more subservient to the executive.