NDI hosted a meeting in Kabul between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Afghan political party leaders and representatives of the Interim Election Commission. Read a Washington Post article on the visit.
Current Political Situation
Following the collapse of the Taliban regime, the United Nations brokered an agreement signed in Bonn, Germany, on December 5, 2001, which outlined an ambitious schedule of mandates to foster Afghanistan's democratic transition. In accordance with the provisions of the Bonn Agreement, a Loya Jirga (Grand Council) was convened in June of 2002, and Hamid Karzai was appointed to lead the Afghan Transitional Administration (ATA). The ATA subsequently laid the groundwork for national elections: a political party law was adopted in November 2003; a new constitution was ratified in January 2004; and an electoral law was adopted in May 2004.
On October 9th, 2004, Afghanistan held the first direct presidential elections in its history, electing Interim President Hamid Karzai with 55.4 percent of the vote. On September 18, 2005, Afghanistan held elections for the lower house of the National Assembly (Wolesi Jirga) and provincial council, following an energetic campaign period with nearly 6,000 candidate participants, over 550 of whom were women. Given the enormous complexity of the balloting, voting, and vote-counting processes, the generally smooth administration and conclusion of these elections were considerable achievements.
Nevertheless, significant challenges remain. The September 2005 elections have produced a National Assembly composed largely of independent members. With a weakened role for political coalitions, it is unclear how members-none of whom have previous legislative experience-will organize to effectively manage legislative affairs. The newly elected provincial councils also face great challenges as their powers and authority have yet to be defined beyond electing members to the upper house of parliament (Meshrano Jirga). In light of these many challenges, including persistent security concerns, it will be crucial that the political management of these newly established institutions is supported and strengthened in the post-election period.
NDI Programs
NDI established an office in Afghanistan in March 2002, initiating programs to support the development of emerging political parties and civic groups as effective and viable participants in Afghanistan's political and electoral processes. In 2004, the Institute established Election Training and Information Centers (ETICs) in Kabul, Kandahar, Kunduz, Jalalabad, Mazar-i-Sharif, Bamiyan, Herat, and Khost to provide political parties the infrastructure, services, and information necessary to participate effectively in Afghanistan's political and electoral process. Through the ETICs NDI conducted national-scale training seminars and workshops for registered parties on political party development, campaigning, and electoral processes. In advance of the 2005 parliamentary elections, NDI trained over 13,000 campaign participants-including over 2,000 women-and provided training workshops to approximately 44,000 candidate agents. NDI also assisted in the establishment of an Afghan election monitoring organization known as the Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA), which conducted the most extensive domestic monitoring effort for the 2005 elections.
Currently, NDI is implementing programs designed to strengthen political processes in the National Assembly and provincial councils. Activity areas in the National Assembly include supporting the development of a women's legislative network, advising parliamentary leaders on legislative rules of procedure, coordinating a parliamentary internship program, and providing professional development training to all parliamentary staff. The Institute is assisting five parliamentary commissions in adopting strategic workplans, developing legislation, and coordinating oversight hearings. NDI is also working to strengthen parliamentary-executive relations through training for staff in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. Through the Institute's regional offices (formerly the ETICs), NDI has provided provincial councilors with multiple nationwide training modules on legislative skills, institution-building, media relations and constituency outreach. The Institute is currently assisting the councils to develop responsive provincial development plan recommendations through consultations with local community leaders and civil society organizations.
Funding
NDI programming in Afghanistan has been funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
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