2010 Afghan parliamentary election explained

Election Name:2010 Afghan parliamentary election
Country:Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Type:parliamentary
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2005 Afghan parliamentary election
Previous Year:2005
Next Election:2018 Afghan parliamentary election
Next Year:2018
Seats For Election:All 249 seats in the House of the People
Election Date:18 September 2010
Image1:Burhanuddin Rabbani Cropped DVIDS.jpg
Leader1:Burhanuddin Rabbani
Party1:Jamiat-e Islami
Alliance1:Pro-Karzai
Last Election1:22 seats
Seats1:17
Seat Change1: 5
Leader2:Muhammad Mohaqiq
Alliance2:Pro-Karzai
Party2:People's Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan
Last Election2:9 seats
Seats2:11
Seat Change2: 2
Image3:Abdul Rashid Dostum in September 2014.jpg
Leader3:Abdul Rashid Dostum
Party3:National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan
Last Election3:33 seats
Seats3:10
Seat Change3: 23
Speaker
Before Election:Yunus Qanuni
After Election:Abdul Raouf Ebrahimi
Before Party:New Afghanistan Party
After Party:Independent politician
Flag Year:2004

Parliamentary elections were held in Afghanistan on 18 September 2010 to elect members of the House of the People (Wolesi Jirga).[1] [2] The Afghan Independent Election Commission - established in accordance with the article 156 of the Constitution of Afghanistan for the purpose of organizing and supervising all elections in the country - postponed the poll from its original date of 22 May[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] to September 18.

The results were delayed on several occasions, but were finalized on October 31. The Taliban issued a direct threat to all those involved in the House of the People elections.

Campaign

The campaign period kicked off on June 23 and ran until September 16. On June 23, 2010, the full list of candidates was announced; 2,577 candidates filed to run, 405 of them women.[8]

On July 7, 2010, the Electoral Complaint Commission[9] announced that it had disqualified 36 candidates because of ties to illegal private militias. However, according to critics "the net caught a few small fish while the sharks swam around it".[10] [11] Sima Samar, who heads the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, said she was concerned that there were alleged war criminals on the candidate lists.[12]

Security

"We urge people not to participate in the election. Everything and everyone affiliated with the election is our target -- candidates, security forces, campaigners, election workers, voters are all our targets," said Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid.[13]

Three candidates were killed during the campaign period while there were several attempts on the lives of others, some of which have resulted in the deaths of campaign workers.

In a tally kept by the Free Election Foundation of Afghanistan,[14] at least eleven campaign workers were killed.[15]

Polling centres

On August 18, Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission[16] announced it would open 5,897 polling centers for the 2010 Wolesi Jirga elections. This was 938 fewer than the original plan to have 6,835 centers opened.[17]

The decision on whether to open or close polling centers was a matter of debate[18] but the IEC said decisions on the polling centers were made in conjunction with the country's security agencies and on September 5 said it was too late to open more. This view was supported by the United Nations and Democracy International.[19] [20]

On September 8, the IEC said a further 81 polling centers would remain shut in eastern Nangarhar province. This brought to 1,019 centers closed, which is almost 15 per cent of the preliminary list of 6835.[21]

Voting system

The voting system used for House of the People elections is single non-transferable vote. The system allows for candidates with as little as less than one percent of the first-choice vote to be elected, something that happened with a number of candidates in the 2005 election.[22] There have been calls to review the use of SNTV as it impedes the development of political parties and prevents fair and accurate representation of Afghanistan's diverse population.[23]

Candidates

There were 2,584 candidates on the ballots for the 2010 Wolesi Jirga elections, across 34 provinces and a country-wide electorate for the nomadic Kuchi tribe.[24]

Some 406 candidates were women, who are allocated at least 68 seats.[25]

Notable incumbent candidates include: Ramazan Bashar Dost, who came third in the 2009 Afghan Presidential election; Younus Qanooni, runner-up to President Hamid Karzai in the 2004 presidential election and the inaugural Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga; Shukria Barakzai, a vocal supporter of women's rights; and Mullah Abdul Salaam Rocketi, a former jihadist who earned his name from his skill in shooting rocket-propelled grenades during the Soviet occupation. All three of them stood for one of the 33 seats assigned to Kabul province. Fatima Aziz, an Afghan physician who was elected in 2005, was also re-elected.

Other candidates for Kabul included: comedian Zamir Kabuli, who is famous for ridiculing politicians and Farida Tarana, a 29-year-old former female contestant on Afghan Star, the local equivalent of American Idol.[26]

Controversy

Reflecting on the disputed previous presidential election, in December 2009 representatives of donor states expressed worries and even suggested that voting should be postponed. Since the violence and the accusations of fraud that accompanied the 2009 election,[27] another round of voting was expected to do more harm than good. The planned election might lead to a new campaign of violence by the Taliban to intimidate voters. The United Nations, the US and election observation missions, including one representing the European Union, had asked the Afghan government to refrain from further elections until it had written a new election law and created a list of registered voters.[28]

United States congressmen visiting Kabul that month also urged President Karzai to delay until electoral reforms were in place. Otherwise, Afghanistan could risk American financial support. Karzai insisted that the elections had to be held in May, despite concerns about their credibility.[29] [30]

On January 24, the election authorities in Afghanistan decided to postpone the elections until September 18, due to "security concerns, logistical problems, and insufficient funds".[31] Using a loophole in the Constitution, the Karzai administration unilaterally rewrote the election law, and Karzai put it into effect by a decree on February 13, 2010. Under this new version, the five members of the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC),[9] would be chosen by the president after consultation with the parliamentary leadership. Previously, three of the seats were held by foreigners appointed by the United Nations and the other two members were Afghans.[32] [33] On March 31, 2010, the Lower House of the Afghan parliament rejected this change.[34]

In a speech at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) on May 17, 2010, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah warned that another rigged election would be catastrophic, even more than the discredited presidential election in August 2009 from which he dropped out.[35] [36]

On August 13, 2010, Staffan de Mistura, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's special representative for Afghanistan, called upon the Afghan security forces to show heightened vigilance, referring to widespread intimidation of female candidates, the killing of three candidates and other violence directed against candidates.[37] [38] The Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) stated that observers were based in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan to observe the campaigns at the provincial level, and volunteer observers in many districts as well.[39]

Starting June 2010, FEFA published monitoring reports into the election campaign,[40] [41] [42] in which it cataloged examples of violence against candidates or misuse of government resources. FEFA called on the Afghan government and Afghan and international security forces to take action against individuals perpetrating electoral violations and act decisively to protect voters and candidates and voters ahead of the parliamentary elections. In the report about the launch of the 2010 election campaigns, the FEFA detailed illegal actions of candidates, increasing attacks against candidates and campaign workers, and widespread intimidation of women. Warlords, the Taliban and rival candidates were blamed for the intimidation and already at least eight people had been assassinated in relation to the upcoming elections, including three candidates. According to some candidates the security situation was worse than with the 2009 elections, despite the arrival of the reinforcement of 30,000 American troops. Nader Nadery, Commissioner at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and director of FEFA, said that there was more intimidation, more attacks on female candidates and other candidates. "Areas in the south are becoming more and more insecure and areas in the north are becoming more and more intimidating for the weaker candidates." According to Mirwais Yasini, former deputy speaker of the Lower House and a candidate in Nangahar Province, in several districts it was impossible to campaign.[43]

There were also reports of thousands of fake voter registration cards in circulation that threatened the credibility of elections.[44]

Following the 2010 Qur'an-burning controversy, the UN's top diplomat in the country said the ensuing protests could force the delay of parliamentary elections.[45]

Fraud prevention

The Independent Election Commission endeavored to prevent the massive fraud that marred 2009's presidential elections, in which one million ballots for President Hamid Karzai were ruled invalid.[46]

The IEC sacked 6,000 election workers and tightened the security measures surrounding ballot boxes by introducing a computerized tracking system.[47]

However, it was expected that fraud would still occur and would be hard to spot, according to election observers Democracy International.[48]

Conduct

On election day, at least fourteen people were killed[49] amid UN and US warnings that security and fraud were major concerns at the election. The Taliban also fired rockets in several cities including Kabul and set off bombs at a polling station and by the governor of Kandahar's convoy.[50]

A Taliban website said that upwards of a hundred attacks had been carried out, though these claims were not confirmed; election authorities, however, said that the elections as a whole had been safe. The organization that monitored the elections, the Free and Fair Elections Foundation, said that "[t]hough there were numerous attacks, none were severe enough to disrupt voting on a wide scale."[51]

Fraud was also a concern, as some people were discovered trying to cast over a thousand illegitimate votes on behalf of candidates.[51] Some officials were accused of taking bribes;[49] and permanent ink was used to mark the fingers of those who had voted so as to identify and prevent multiple votes.[49]

The total turnout of voters was estimated to be almost 3.6 million out of a total of more than 10 million eligible voters.[49] The United Nations said that if five million people voted, the vote could be considered a success, given the difficulties of holding an election during a war.[49] The head of Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission said that he would consider the election a success if more than three million people voted, a tally that came to pass.[49] Out of a planned 5,816 open voting locations, authorities said that 92% had opened as scheduled, while the remainder had not opened due to security concerns.[49] [51] The turnout was reported to be light due to Taliban threats.[52] However, the violence was also a lot less than expected.

Results

On September 26, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) ordered recounts at locations in seven provinces,[53] but left open the possibility of ordering recounts in other provinces. The recounts were ordered in Kunduz, Balkh, Takhar, Badakhshan and Parwan provinces in the north and northeast, Logar and Khost. At least five polling centres in eastern Khost province were declared invalid.

Preliminary results for all 34 provinces were originally due on October 8, but were unexpectedly put off citing the need to be "more accurate and precise."[54] However, they would still be subject to confirmation after the Electoral Complaints Commission adjudicates on its legality. Final, certified results were released on October 31.[55]

Elected MPs

(This list is incomplete)

name province number of votes percentage m/f incumbency ethnicity associated party'
Badakhshan 16,410 7.1% m incumbent Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Badakhshan 16,192 7.0% f incumbent Tajik
Alhaj Safiullah Muslim Badakhshan 8,632 3.7% m new Uzbek
Badakhshan 8,469 3.7% m new Tajik National Congress Party (Leader)
Amanullah Paiman Badakhshan 8,289 3.6% m incumbent Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Alhaj Shah Abdul Ahad Afzali Badakhshan 8,164 3.5% m new Tajik
Muhammad Zekria Soda Badakhshan 7,982 3.5% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Abdul Wali Niazi Badakhshan 7,811 3.4% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Badakhshan 3,667 1.6% f new Tajik
Sayed Muhammad Musa Janab Sahib Badghis 4,593 7.4% m new Hezbi Islami
Hajji Ghulam Sarwar Faiez Badghis 3,802 6.1% m new Hazara
Alhaj Qazi Abdul Rahim Badghis 3,261 5.3% m new Hazara
Safia Aymaq Badghis 2,003 3.2% f new Aymaq Hezbi Islami
Sayed Mansoor Naderi Baghlan 7,849 6.5% m incumbent Hazara Hezbe Paiwand Milli (Leader)
Obaidullah Rameen Baghlan 5,362 4.4% m new Hazara
Shukria Esa Khil Baghlan 5,247 4.3% f incumbent Pasthun Afghan Mellat
Dr Mahdi Baghlan 5,154 4.2% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Muhammad Azim Muhsini Baghlan 4,551 3.7% m new Hazara
Delawar Aymaq Baghlan 3,856 3.2% m new Aymaq
Muhammad Zahir Ghani Zada Baghlan 3,080 2.5% m new Tajik
Alhaj Ustad Najya Aymaq Baghlan 1,373 1.1% f new Aymaq
Ahmad Shah Ramazan Balkh 19,614 7.7% m new Hazara
Abas Ibrahim Zada Balkh 18,413 7.2% m new Hazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum
Alhaj Muhammad Ishaq Rahguzar Balkh 17,181 6.8% m incumbent Arab Jamiat-e Islami
Alhaj Alam Khan Azadi Balkh 16,820 6.6% m incumbent Arab
Assadullah Sharifi Balkh 15,351 6.0% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Alhaj Muhammad Abdah Balkh 14,173 5.6% m incumbent Hazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum
Alhaj Maulawi Abdul Rahman Rahmani Balkh 12,389 4.9% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Muhammad Farhad Azimi Balkh 10,787 4.2% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Sifora Niazai Balkh 4,358 1.7% f incumbent Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Brishna Rabie Balkh 3,229 1.3% f new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Dr. Gulalay Noor Safi Balkh 3,018 1.2% f incumbent Pashtun
Colonel Abdul Rahman Shahidani Bamyan 11,993 9.9% m new Hazara
Hajji Fakuri Behishti Bamyan 11,824 9.7% m incumbent Hazara Hezbe Eqtedar Milli
Ustad Muhammad Akbari Bamyan 10,857 8.9% m incumbent Hazara Hezbe Wahdat Milli Islami (Leader)
Safoora Yalkhani Bamyan 5,603 4.6% f incumbent Hazara
Muhammad Noor Akbari Daykundi 15,780 10.5% m incumbent Hazara
Asadullah Saadati Daykundi 12,742 8.5% m new Hazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami
Sadiqi Zada Neli Daykundi 10,592 7.1% m incumbent Hazara Hezbe Eqtedar Milli
Sherin Muhseni Daykundi 8,581 5.7% f incumbent Hazara
Ustad Humaira Ayubi Farah 3,763 10.0% f new Pashtun
Samiullah Samim Farah 3,690 9.8% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Hajji Mammor Mussa Farah 2,642 7.0% m incumbent Pashtun Hezbi Islami
Abdul Sabor Khidmat Farah 2,415 6.4% m new Pashtun
Alhaj Saranwal Muhammad Sarwar Usmani Farahi Farah 2,223 5.9% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Hajji Muhammad Hashim Faryab 9,299 5.0% m new Pashtun
Dr. Naqebullah Fayeq Faryab 7,720 4.1% m new Uzbek
Eng. Muhammad Hashim Awartaq Faryab 7,617 4.1% m new Uzbek
Bashir Ahmad Tah Yenj Faryab 7,427 4.0% m new Uzbek
Alhaj Fathullah Qaisari Faryab 7,221 3.9% m incumbent Uzbek Junbish Milli
Muhammad Shakar Kargar Faryab 6,906 3.7% m incumbent Uzbek Junbish Milli
Fauzia Raoufi Faryab 2,480 1.3% f incumbent Pashtun
Faryab 1,573 0.8% f new Uzbek
Asifa Shadab Faryab 1,349 0.7% f incumbent Tajik
Ali Akbar Qasimi Ghazni 13,855 7.7% m incumbent Hazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum
Ghazni 10,078 5.6% m new Hazara
Dr. Shah Jahan Ghazni 9,209 5.1% m new Hazara
Muhammad Ali Alizada Ghazni 8,498 4.7% m new Hazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum
Ghazni 6,898 3.9% m new Hazara
Ustad Muhammad Arif Rahmani Ghazni 6,864 3.8% m new Hazara
Ghazni 6,658 3.7% m new Hazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami
Huma Sultani Ghazni 6,238 3.5% f new Hazara
Eng. Nafisa Azimi Ghazni 6,228 3.5% f new Hazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum
Chaman Shah Etimadi Ghazni 5,891 3.3% m new Hazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami
Shah Gull Rezayee Ghazni 3,679 2.1% f incumbent Hazara
Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim Malikzad Ghor 18,493 10.5% m incumbent Aymaq
Hajji Qurban Kohistnai Ghor 15,698 8.9% m incumbent Hazara
Aqay Bahr Ghor 13,385 7.6% m new Hazara
Alhaj Karam-u-din Reza Zada Ghor 12,352 7.0% m new Aymaq
Ruqia Naiel Ghor 8,747 5.0% f incumbent Hazara
Seema Joyenda Ghor 3,960 2.2% f new Aymaq
Shikh Namtullah Ghafari Helmand 3,042 9.1% m incumbent Hazara
Hajji Abdul Hay Helmand 2,403 7.2% m new Pashtun
Hajji Muhammad Wali Alizai Helmand 1,881 5.7% m new Pashtun
Abdul Wudod Helmand 1,847 5.6% m new Pashtun
Abdul Jabar Helmand 1,773 5.3% m new Pashtun Hezbi Islami
Massoud Khan Noorzai Helmand 1,664 4.9% m new Pashtun
Nasima Niazai Helmand 1,324 4.0% f incumbent Pashtun
Habiba Sadat Helmand 574 1.7% f new Pashtun
Ghulam Farooq Majroh Herat 9,524 3.3% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Qazi Nazer Ahmad Hanafi Herat 8,716 3.0% m incumbent Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Ahmad Bihzad Herat 7,733 2.7% m incumbent Hazara
Hajji Ghulam Farooq Nazari Herat 7,346 2.6% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Ahmad Farhad Majedi Herat 7,005 2.4% m new Tajik
Muhammad Reza Khushak Watan Dost Herat 6,961 2.4% m new Hazara
Hajji Muhammad Arif Tayeb Herat 6,106 2.1% m incumbent Aymaq Jamiat-e Islami
Hajji Khalil Ahmad Shahed Zada Herat 6,048 2.1% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Abdul Hadi Jamshedi Herat 5,689 2.0% m incumbent Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Dr. Muhammad Salih Saljoqi Herat 5,577 1.9% m incumbent Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Alhaj Eng. Monawar Shah Bahaduri Herat 5,430 1.9% m new Pashtun
Alhaj Muhammad Rafiq Shaheer Herat 5,347 1.9% m new Pashtun
Nahid Ahamdi Farid Herat 4,042 1.4% f new
Shanaz Hemati Herat 3,961 1.4% f incumbent
Masooda Karukhi Herat 2,092 0.7% f new Tajik
Ustad Najla Dehqan Nazhad Herat 2,041 0.7% f incumbent Pashtun Hezbi Islami
Yasamin Barikzai Herat 1,688 0.6% f new Pashtun Hezbe Musharikat Mili
Dr. Enayatullah Babur Ferahmand Juzjan 8,137 8.1% m new Uzbek
Baz Muhammad Juzjani Juzjan 6,453 6.4% m incumbent Arab
Abdul Satar Darzabi Juzjan 5,543 5.5% m incumbent Uzbek Junbish Milli
Hajji Muhammad Ismail Juzjan 5,168 5.1% m new Turkmen
Fahima Sadat Juzjan 3,058 3.0% f incumbent Tajik
Kabul 16,233 3.6% m new Hazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum (Leader)
Kabul 9,548 2.1% m incumbent Tajik Hezbe Afghanistan Naween (Leader)
Dr Ramazan Bashar Dost Kabul 7,935 1.8% m incumbent Hazara
Kabul 7,158 1.6% m incumbent Pashtun Hezbe Dawat Islami (Leader)
Wakeel Fatima Nazari Kabul 6,834 1.5% m new Hazara Hezbe Niyaaz Milli (Leader)
Mir Amanullah Guzar Kabul 6,686 1.5% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Kabul 6,612 1.5% f new Hazara Hezbe Paiwand Milli
Hajji Muhammad Farhad Seddiqi Kabul 5,128 1.1% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Muhammad Ibrahim Qasemi Kabul 5,014 1.1% m incumbent Hazara
Kabul 5,013 1.1% m new Hazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum
Sayed Hussain Anwari Kabul 4,715 1.1% m new HazaraHezbe Harakat Islami (Leader)
Baktash Siawash Kabul 4,557 1.0% m new Tajik
Alhaj Ezatullah Atif Kabul 4,429 1.% m new Arab
Alhaj Allah Gull Mujahid Kabul 4,115 0.9% m new Pashtun Hezbi Islami
Hajji Muhammad Dawoud Kalakani Kabul 3,926 0.9% m incumbent Tajik Hezbe Dawat Islami
Sharifullah Kamawal Kabul 3,876 0.9% m new Pashtun Hezbi Islami
Dr Sayed Ali Kazemi Kabul 3,764 0.8% m new Hazara Hezbe Eqtedar Milli (Leader)
Qais Hassan Kabul 3,608 0.8% m new Pashtun Hezbi Islami
Sayed Hussain Alimi Balkhi Kabul 3,423 0.8% m incumbent Hazara
Eng. Shir Wali Wardak Kabul 3,409 0.8% m new Pashtun Hezbi Islami
Anwar Khan Oriakhil Kabul 3,200 0.7% m incumbent Pashtun
Kabul 3,148 0.7% m new Hazara Hezbe Paiwand Milli
Kabul 2,999 0.7% f new Pashtun
Arfanullah Arfan Kabul 2,977 0.7% m incumbent Pashtun Hezbi Islami
Dr Abdullah Kalimzai Wardak Kabul 2,918 0.7% m new Pashtun Hezbi Islami
Ustad Qurban Ali Arfani Kabul 2,905 0.7% m new Hazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Millat (Leader)
Abdul Hafiz Mansoor Kabul 2,903 0.7% m new Tajik Jamiat-e Islami
Torpekai Patman Kabul 2,258 0.5% f new Pashtun
Shukria Barikzai Kabul 2,174 0.5% f incumbent Pashtun
Ustad Rababa Parwani Darwish Kabul 1,309 0.3% f new Hazara
General Nazifa Zaki Kabul 1,210 0.3% f new Tajik
Kubra Mustafawi Kabul 1,129 0.3% f new Hazara
Fawzia Nasir Yar Guldarayee Kabul 1,119 0.3% f incumbent Tajik
Turan Sahib Abdul Khaliq Khan Balakarzai Kandahar 5,663 7.5% m new Pashtun
Muhammad Naiem Lalay Hamidzai Kandahar 5,435 7.2% m new Pashtun
Hajji Muhammad Omar Nangialay Kandahar 4,946 6.6% m new Pashtun
Abdul Rahim Ayubi Kandahar 4,859 6.4% m new Pashtun
Alhaj Mullah Sayed Muhammad Akhund Kandahar 3,452 4.6% m new Pashtun
Dr. Mahmood Khan Kandahar 3,438 4.6% m new Pashtun
Khalid Pashtoon Kandahar 3,048 4.0% m incumbent
Attaullah Jan Habib Kandahar 3,004 4.0% m new Pashtun
Fariba Ahmadi Kakar Kandahar 2,289 3.0% f new Pashtun
Bibi Hamida Kandahar 938 1.2% f new Pashtun
Shakeeba Hashimi Kandahar 627 0.8% f incumbent Hazara
Alhaj Mirdad Khan Nijrabi Kapisa 10,199 22.5% m new Tajik
Eng. Muhammad Iqbal Safi Kapisa 6,641 14.7% m incumbent Pashtun Hezbi Islami
Hajji Agha Jan Kapisa 3,574 7.9% m new Tajik Hezbi Islami
Tahira Mujadidi Kapisa 1,464 3.2% f new Tajik Hezbi Islami
Kamal Nasir Usoli Khost 4,921 14.4% m new Pashtun
Homayoon Khost 2,839 8.3% m new
Alhaj Dr. Mirbat Khan Mangal Khost 2,659 7.8% m new Pashtun Hezbi Islami
Leyaqatullah Babakarkhil Khost 2,176 6.4% m incumbent Pashtun
Sahira Sharif Khost 2,110 6.2% f incumbent Pashtun
Maulawi Shazada Shaid Kunar 8,359 11.8% m incumbent
Hajji Sakhi Kunar 6,827 9.7% m new Pashtun Hezbi Islami
Hajji Salih Muhammad Kunar 5,853 8.3% m new Pashtun
Wagma Sapai Kunar 2,538 3.6% f Pashtun
Sources:[56] [57] [58] [59]

The MPs are made up of: (38.5%) 96 Pashtuns, (24.5%) 61 Hazaras, (21%) 53 Tajiks, (6%) 15 Uzbeks, (3%) 8 Aymāq, (3%) 8 Arab, (1%) 3 Turkmen, (1%) 2 Nuristanis, (1%) 1 Baloch, (0.5%) 1 Pashai and (0.5%) 1 Turkic.

Pre-result reaction

President Karzai responded to the allegations, saying "[i]t is early for us to make concrete judgment ... as far as the quality of the election is concerned, and organization, this is too early to judge. The president and government will make judgment after the relevant organisations have concluded their work."[60]

Fraud allegations

Additionally, more than 100 complaints of fraud were filed in the first weekend, with another 1,300 complaints submitted orally, though the election commission said that they would not be reviewed unless they were put into writing.[61] By September 26, 3,460 complaints had been received by the Electoral Complaints Commission.[62]

Many candidates demanded a suspension of the vote because of allegations of fraud and vote-rigging.[63]

The election commission voided more than 20%, or 1.3 million, of the ballots, after fraud investigations.[64]

Twenty-one elected parliamentarians were also disqualified due to fraud.[65] A spokesman of the electoral commission said that 19 of the candidates were winning or leading their races, while two others had failed to win seats.[66]

Despite ongoing allegations of fraud and disqualifications, Karzai agreed to open parliament if the said controversies were not brought up.[67]

On 23 June 2011, a special tribunal led by Sidiquallah Haqiq and set up by Karzai to probe election irregularities declared the election of 62 MPs void and others elected in their stead, about a quarter of the races in the election. The MPs have the right to appeal to the Afghan Supreme Court[68]

On August 21, 2011, The Afghanistan Independent Election Commission announced at a news conference that nine members of Parliament would be removed and that nine candidates, previously disqualified over electoral irregularities, would have their seats restored.[69]

Party results

Only a minority of candidates contested the election on a party ticket, whilst a number of elected MP's were loosely associated with certain parties. Below is a table detailing the NDI's assessment of formal party strength. Due to the often unclear nature of Afghan party politics the figures given are not exact, and do not include unofficial party supporters, but are instead limited to the candidates who openly declared their party allegiance.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Afghan Election Commission Postpones Parliamentary Vote . Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty . Rferl.org . 2013-04-15.
  2. Web site: Afghan parliamentary vote postponed . English.aljazeera.net . 2013-04-15.
  3. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/30/world/asia/30afghan.html "Afghans Announce Spring Election"
  4. News: Ben Quinn . Afghan MPs snub Karzai's new cabinet - President dealt political body blow ahead of key international conference in London later this month . Guardian . 2010-01-03 . 2013-04-15.
  5. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/world/asia/25afghan.html "Afghanistan Postpones Parliamentary Election by 4 Months"
  6. News: Why Afghanistan's September elections ought to be postponed . Washingtonpost.com . 2010-07-11 . 2013-04-15 . Candace . Rondeaux.
  7. News: Taylor . Rob . NATO denies Taliban ascendant as Afghan toll mounts . Reuters.com . 2010-07-11. 2013-04-15.
  8. Web site: F_404 . List of Afghan parliamentary candidates finalized . English.people.com.cn . 2010-06-23 . 2013-04-15.
  9. Web site: Electoral Complaints Commission . 2010-08-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100719223757/http://www.ecc.org.af/en/ . 2010-07-19 .
  10. Web site: Ahmad . Hafiz . Afghans Disillusioned with Candidate Choice - Most current parliamentarians plan to stand again, despite widespread public mistrust and disappointment . Iwpr.net . 2013-04-15 . 2010-07-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100723150700/http://www.iwpr.net/report-news/afghans-disillusioned-candidate-choice . dead .
  11. Web site: Dan Murphy . Afghanistan election will still include suspected war criminals . Csmonitor.com . 2010-07-30 . 2013-04-15.
  12. Web site: IWPR-trained journalists - Afghanistan . Voters Angry at "Warlord" Candidates - Politicians with paramilitary pasts enjoy impunity for past actions . Iwpr.net . 2013-04-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110919201013/http://iwpr.net/report-news/afghan-voters-angry-%E2%80%9Cwarlord%E2%80%9D-candidates . 2011-09-19 . dead .
  13. https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100905/wl_asia_afp/afghanistanunrestvotetaliban Taliban death threats hang over Afghan elections
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  56. http://hazara.net/downloads/afghanistan_analysis_of_wolesi_jirga_2010.pdf A very detailed analyze of new parliament by Kabul Center of Strategic Studies
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