Parties Risk Election Exclusion

Only a handful of political parties have applied for official registration since the introduction of a new law excluding those associated with military factions.

Officials now warn that many powerful parties may lose the chance to field candidates at next year’s presidential elections and the 2005 parliamentary ballot if they continue to ignore the new law.

However, many of the leading political forces remain defiant. Waqef Hakimi, a spokesperson for the Jamiat-e-Islami movement, told IWPR, “A political party which has taken an active part in the fate of the country during the last decade should not be required to register.”

As well as ruling out parties with links to armed forces - which would appear to exclude many jihadi parties - the law also excludes those accused of “provoking ethnic tension”, acting against Islam or receiving money from foreign sources.

Justice ministry official Khan Mohammad told IWPR that since the legislation came into effect nearly two months ago, only a few small, newly-formed parties have shown an interest in registration.

All parties are required to submit their emblem, campaign slogans and constitution, along with registration forms for a minimum 700 members, to the justice ministry’s registration department.

As well as defiance, there is also widespread confusion over the process and a fear of becoming involved in a bureaucracy still largely dominated by conservative forces.

Just recently a well-known women’s organisation had its offices ransacked and membership lists stolen by armed men, making people even more wary of filling in forms giving personal details.

The head of registration of political parties and social organisations, Sayed Mohammad Quraishi, warned that even those who do meet the criteria but fail to officially sign up risk missing out.

“They should get their parties registered by April or otherwise they will not be authorised to nominate candidates [for election],” he said.

Sibghatullah Sanjar of the recently created Republican Party is one of those who will be seeking to register. However, he told IWPR that the registration process was being delayed as the justice ministry was yet to set up a commission to approve applications.

Sayed Mohammad Quraishi denied this, saying that a five-member commission led by Mohammad Qasem Hashimzai, an under-secretary at the justice ministry, had been established and had met twice in the last month.

On the issue of parties simply refusing to register, Quraishi told IWPR that the officials had to move with caution at this stage. “Tough action is not the solution, but if this situation persists in six months time their offices should be closed,” he warned.

Neverthless, the streets of Kabul are full of campaigning unregistered parties such as the powerful jihadi groups - many of which still have ties with armed groups - holding membership drives and handing out promotion information.

Jamiat counts high officials - including the foreign, education and defence ministers - among its members, and is known for its ties with commanders including Atta Mohammad in Mazar-e Sharif and Ismail Khan in Herat.

The party’s spokesman Hakimi, who is dismissive of the new legislation, insists that his party does not possess any sort of military force or armed men.

Enayatullah Baligh, head of secretariat for Ittehad-e-Islami, another powerful political grouping led by Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, also says that he doesn’t see any point in the process.

“We don’t need to register. The Bonn Accord came about as the result of efforts by these parties [the seven principal jihadi parties]…Ittehad-e-Islami existed before the birth of [the current] interim administration.”

He agreed that political parties should not be armed – and insisted that his was not, “Ittehad-e Islami has handed over all their military formations to the government across Afghanistan…We had arms as long as it was needed, [but] now we should serve the people and render cultural services.”

One party that is seeking to register is the Mutahed Milli Hezb - National United Party - whose leader and founder Noorul Haq Uloomi is well-known for his past involvement with communist parties.

The justice ministry has recently banned communist groups from being allowed to register, but Uloomi denies that his new party is one.

Far from criticising the new law, Uloomi argues that the criteria should have been stricter. “Our objection is that the number [of members should have been raised from] 700 to 7,000. Afghanistan requires fewer parties, not [many small ones],” he said.

Samander Rahimullah and Danish Karokhel are IWPR editors in Kabul.