Afghan Youth Debates: Elections Fit With Tradition

At one of several youth debates IWPR is hosting around Afghanistan, medical student Mohammad Nabi Zahed asked how Islamic teachings viewed the modern electoral process. He pointed out that the tradition seemed to be more about consensus decisions rather than in individual choice.

The question came up during a discussion involving more than 100 students at the university in Gardez, the administrative centre of the eastern Paktia province.

One of the panellists, Abdul Nasir Atid, who lectures in Islamic studies at Paktia University, replied that religious jurisprudence provided for different selection methods including the casting of ballots.

Atid said there was no clear evidence as to how rulers were chosen in the early days of Islam, people had a right to choose leaders. He quoted a hadith or saying of the Prophet Muhammad that implied people had this right.

Local journalist Niazullah Asil Zazai said things were less complex at the beginning because the world was a smaller place.

“In the early era of Islam, a leader was selected by a few men, whereas this mandate is now handled by electoral authorities like the Independent Election Commission and the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission,” he said. 

Mohammad Khan Raihan is a student at Paktia University and an IWPR trainee.

This report was produced as part of Open Minds: Speaking Up, Reaching Out – Promoting University and Youth Participation in Afghan Elections, an IWPR initiative funded by the US embassy in Kabul.