2010 Afghan parliamentary election

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2010 Afghan parliamentary election
Flag of Afghanistan (2004-2013).svg
  2005 18 September 2010 2018  

All 249 seats in the House of the People
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Burhanuddin Rabbani Cropped DVIDS.jpg Mohaqiq in July 2014.jpg Abdul Rashid Dostum in September 2014.jpg
Leader Burhanuddin Rabbani Muhammad Mohaqiq Abdul Rashid Dostum
Party Jamiat-e Islami PIUPA Junbish
Alliance Pro-Karzai Pro-Karzai
Last election22 seats9 seats33 seats
Seats won171110
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 5Increase2.svg 2Decrease2.svg 23

Speaker before election

Yunus Qanuni
Naveen

Elected Speaker

Abdul Raouf Ebrahimi
Independent

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.

Contents

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.[ why? ]

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]

PartyVotes%Seats
Independents4,030,227100.00249
Total4,030,227100.00249
Valid votes4,030,22795.58
Invalid/blank votes186,3674.42
Total votes4,216,594100.00
Registered voters/turnout10,300,00040.94
Source: IEC, Election Guide

Elected MPs

(This list is incomplete)

nameprovincenumber of votespercentagem/fincumbencyethnicityassociated party'
Alhaj Zulmai Mujadadi Badakhshan16,4107.1%mincumbentTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Fawzia Koofi Badakhshan16,1927.0%fincumbentTajik
Alhaj Safiullah MuslimBadakhshan8,6323.7%mnewUzbek
Abdul Latif Pedram Badakhshan8,4693.7%mnewTajik National Congress Party (Leader)
Amanullah PaimanBadakhshan8,2893.6%mincumbentTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Alhaj Shah Abdul Ahad AfzaliBadakhshan8,1643.5%mnewTajik
Muhammad Zekria SodaBadakhshan7,9823.5%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Abdul Wali NiaziBadakhshan7,8113.4%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Dr. Nilofar Ibrahimi Badakhshan3,6671.6%fnewTajik
Sayed Muhammad Musa Janab SahibBadghis4,5937.4%mnew Hezbi Islami
Hajji Ghulam Sarwar FaiezBadghis3,8026.1%mnewHazara
Alhaj Qazi Abdul RahimBadghis3,2615.3%mnewHazara
Safia AymaqBadghis2,0033.2%fnewAymaq Hezbi Islami
Sayed Mansoor NaderiBaghlan7,8496.5%mincumbentHazara Hezbe Paiwand Milli (Leader)
Obaidullah RameenBaghlan5,3624.4%mnewHazara
Shukria Esa KhilBaghlan5,2474.3%fincumbentPasthun Afghan Mellat
Dr MahdiBaghlan5,1544.2%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Muhammad Azim MuhsiniBaghlan4,5513.7%mnewHazara
Delawar AymaqBaghlan3,8563.2%mnewAymaq
Muhammad Zahir Ghani ZadaBaghlan3,0802.5%mnewTajik
Alhaj Ustad Najya AymaqBaghlan1,3731.1%fnewAymaq
Ahmad Shah RamazanBalkh19,6147.7%mnewHazara
Abas Ibrahim ZadaBalkh18,4137.2%mnewHazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum
Alhaj Muhammad Ishaq RahguzarBalkh17,1816.8%mincumbentArab Jamiat-e Islami
Alhaj Alam Khan AzadiBalkh16,8206.6%mincumbentArab
Assadullah SharifiBalkh15,3516.0%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Alhaj Muhammad AbdahBalkh14,1735.6%mincumbentHazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum
Alhaj Maulawi Abdul Rahman RahmaniBalkh12,3894.9%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Muhammad Farhad AzimiBalkh10,7874.2%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Sifora NiazaiBalkh4,3581.7%fincumbentTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Brishna RabieBalkh3,2291.3%fnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Dr. Gulalay Noor SafiBalkh3,0181.2%fincumbentPashtun
Colonel Abdul Rahman ShahidaniBamyan11,9939.9%mnewHazara
Hajji Fakuri BehishtiBamyan11,8249.7%mincumbentHazara Hezbe Eqtedar Milli
Ustad Muhammad AkbariBamyan10,8578.9%mincumbentHazara Hezbe Wahdat Milli Islami (Leader)
Safoora YalkhaniBamyan5,6034.6%fincumbentHazara
Muhammad Noor AkbariDaykundi15,78010.5%mincumbentHazara
Asadullah SaadatiDaykundi12,7428.5%mnewHazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami
Sadiqi Zada NeliDaykundi10,5927.1%mincumbentHazara Hezbe Eqtedar Milli
Sherin MuhseniDaykundi8,5815.7%fincumbentHazara
Ustad Humaira AyubiFarah3,76310.0%fnewPashtun
Samiullah SamimFarah3,6909.8%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Hajji Mammor MussaFarah2,6427.0%mincumbentPashtun Hezbi Islami
Abdul Sabor KhidmatFarah2,4156.4%mnewPashtun
Alhaj Saranwal Muhammad Sarwar Usmani FarahiFarah2,2235.9%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Hajji Muhammad HashimFaryab9,2995.0%mnewPashtun
Dr. Naqebullah FayeqFaryab7,7204.1%mnewUzbek
Eng. Muhammad Hashim AwartaqFaryab7,6174.1%mnewUzbek
Bashir Ahmad Tah YenjFaryab7,4274.0%mnewUzbek
Alhaj Fathullah QaisariFaryab7,2213.9%mincumbentUzbek Junbish Milli
Muhammad Shakar KargarFaryab6,9063.7%mincumbentUzbek Junbish Milli
Fauzia RaoufiFaryab2,4801.3%fincumbentPashtun
Rangina Kargar Faryab1,5730.8%fnewUzbek
Asifa ShadabFaryab1,3490.7%fincumbentTajik
Ali Akbar QasimiGhazni13,8557.7%mincumbentHazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum
Muhammad Ali Akhlaqi Ghazni10,0785.6%mnewHazara
Dr. Shah JahanGhazni9,2095.1%mnewHazara
Muhammad Ali AlizadaGhazni8,4984.7%mnewHazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum
Dr. Abdul Qayoom Sajadi Ghazni6,8983.9%mnewHazara
Ustad Muhammad Arif RahmaniGhazni6,8643.8%mnewHazara
Khodadad Erfani Ghazni6,6583.7%mnewHazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami
Huma SultaniGhazni6,2383.5%fnewHazara
Eng. Nafisa AzimiGhazni6,2283.5%fnewHazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum
Chaman Shah EtimadiGhazni5,8913.3%mnewHazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami
Shah Gull RezayeeGhazni3,6792.1%fincumbentHazara
Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim MalikzadGhor18,49310.5%mincumbentAymaq
Hajji Qurban KohistnaiGhor15,6988.9%mincumbentHazara
Aqay BahrGhor13,3857.6%mnewHazara
Alhaj Karam-u-din Reza ZadaGhor12,3527.0%mnewAymaq
Ruqia NaielGhor8,7475.0%fincumbentHazara
Seema JoyendaGhor3,9602.2%fnewAymaq
Shikh Namtullah GhafariHelmand3,0429.1%mincumbentHazara
Hajji Abdul HayHelmand2,4037.2%mnewPashtun
Hajji Muhammad Wali AlizaiHelmand1,8815.7%mnewPashtun
Abdul WudodHelmand1,8475.6%mnewPashtun
Abdul JabarHelmand1,7735.3%mnewPashtun Hezbi Islami
Massoud Khan NoorzaiHelmand1,6644.9%mnewPashtun
Nasima NiazaiHelmand1,3244.0%fincumbentPashtun
Habiba SadatHelmand5741.7%fnewPashtun
Ghulam Farooq MajrohHerat9,5243.3%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Qazi Nazer Ahmad HanafiHerat8,7163.0%mincumbentTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Ahmad BihzadHerat7,7332.7%mincumbentHazara
Hajji Ghulam Farooq NazariHerat7,3462.6%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Ahmad Farhad MajediHerat7,0052.4%mnewTajik
Muhammad Reza Khushak Watan DostHerat6,9612.4%mnewHazara
Hajji Muhammad Arif TayebHerat6,1062.1%mincumbentAymaq Jamiat-e Islami
Hajji Khalil Ahmad Shahed ZadaHerat6,0482.1%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Abdul Hadi JamshediHerat5,6892.0%mincumbentTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Dr. Muhammad Salih SaljoqiHerat5,5771.9%mincumbentTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Alhaj Eng. Monawar Shah BahaduriHerat5,4301.9%mnewPashtun
Alhaj Muhammad Rafiq ShaheerHerat5,3471.9%mnewPashtun
Nahid Ahamdi FaridHerat4,0421.4%fnew
Shanaz HematiHerat3,9611.4%fincumbent
Masooda KarukhiHerat2,0920.7%fnewTajik
Ustad Najla Dehqan NazhadHerat2,0410.7%fincumbentPashtun Hezbi Islami
Yasamin BarikzaiHerat1,6880.6%fnewPashtunHezbe Musharikat Mili
Dr. Enayatullah Babur FerahmandJuzjan8,1378.1%mnewUzbek
Baz Muhammad JuzjaniJuzjan6,4536.4%mincumbentArab
Abdul Satar DarzabiJuzjan5,5435.5%mincumbentUzbek Junbish Milli
Hajji Muhammad IsmailJuzjan5,1685.1%mnewTurkmen
Fahima SadatJuzjan3,0583.0%fincumbentTajik
Hajji Muhammad Mohaqiq Kabul16,2333.6%mnewHazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum (Leader)
Yunus Qanuni Kabul9,5482.1%mincumbentTajik Hezbe Afghanistan Naween (Leader)
Dr Ramazan Bashar DostKabul7,9351.8%mincumbentHazara
Ustad Abdul Rab Rasool Sayaf Kabul7,1581.6%mincumbentPashtun Hezbe Dawat Islami (Leader)
Wakeel Fatima NazariKabul6,8341.5%mnewHazaraHezbe Niyaaz Milli (Leader)
Mir Amanullah GuzarKabul6,6861.5%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Farkhunda Zahra Naderi Kabul6,6121.5%fnewHazara Hezbe Paiwand Milli
Hajji Muhammad Farhad SeddiqiKabul5,1281.1%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Muhammad Ibrahim QasemiKabul5,0141.1%mincumbentHazara
Jafar Mahdavi Kabul5,0131.1%mnewHazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Mardum
Sayed Hussain AnwariKabul4,7151.1%mnewHazara Hezbe Harakat Islami (Leader)
Baktash SiawashKabul4,5571.0%mnewTajik
Alhaj Ezatullah AtifKabul4,4291.%mnewArab
Alhaj Allah Gull MujahidKabul4,1150.9%mnewPashtun Hezbi Islami
Hajji Muhammad Dawoud KalakaniKabul3,9260.9%mincumbentTajik Hezbe Dawat Islami
Sharifullah KamawalKabul3,8760.9%mnewPashtun Hezbi Islami
Dr Sayed Ali KazemiKabul3,7640.8%mnewHazara Hezbe Eqtedar Milli (Leader)
Qais HassanKabul3,6080.8%mnewPashtun Hezbi Islami
Sayed Hussain Alimi BalkhiKabul3,4230.8%mincumbentHazara
Eng. Shir Wali WardakKabul3,4090.8%mnewPashtun Hezbi Islami
Anwar Khan OriakhilKabul3,2000.7%mincumbentPashtun
Ramazan Juma Zada Kabul3,1480.7%mnewHazara Hezbe Paiwand Milli
Shinkai Karokhail Kabul2,9990.7%fnewPashtun
Arfanullah ArfanKabul2,9770.7%mincumbentPashtun Hezbi Islami
Dr Abdullah Kalimzai WardakKabul2,9180.7%mnewPashtun Hezbi Islami
Ustad Qurban Ali ArfaniKabul2,9050.7%mnewHazara Hezbe Wahdat Islami Millat (Leader)
Abdul Hafiz MansoorKabul2,9030.7%mnewTajik Jamiat-e Islami
Torpekai PatmanKabul2,2580.5%fnewPashtun
Shukria BarikzaiKabul2,1740.5%fincumbentPashtun
Ustad Rababa Parwani DarwishKabul1,3090.3%fnewHazara
General Nazifa ZakiKabul1,2100.3%fnewTajik
Kubra MustafawiKabul1,1290.3%fnewHazara
Fawzia Nasir Yar GuldarayeeKabul1,1190.3%fincumbentTajik
Turan Sahib Abdul Khaliq Khan BalakarzaiKandahar5,6637.5%mnewPashtun
Muhammad Naiem Lalay HamidzaiKandahar5,4357.2%mnewPashtun
Hajji Muhammad Omar NangialayKandahar4,9466.6%mnewPashtun
Abdul Rahim AyubiKandahar4,8596.4%mnewPashtun
Alhaj Mullah Sayed Muhammad AkhundKandahar3,4524.6%mnewPashtun
Dr. Mahmood KhanKandahar3,4384.6%mnewPashtun
Khalid PashtoonKandahar3,0484.0%mincumbent
Attaullah Jan HabibKandahar3,0044.0%mnewPashtun
Fariba Ahmadi KakarKandahar2,2893.0%fnewPashtun
Bibi HamidaKandahar9381.2%fnewPashtun
Shakeeba HashimiKandahar6270.8%fincumbentHazara
Alhaj Mirdad Khan NijrabiKapisa10,19922.5%mnewTajik
Eng. Muhammad Iqbal SafiKapisa6,64114.7%mincumbentPashtun Hezbi Islami
Hajji Agha JanKapisa3,5747.9%mnewTajik Hezbi Islami
Tahira MujadidiKapisa1,4643.2%fnewTajik Hezbi Islami
Kamal Nasir UsoliKhost4,92114.4%mnewPashtun
HomayoonKhost2,8398.3%mnew
Alhaj Dr. Mirbat Khan MangalKhost2,6597.8%mnewPashtun Hezbi Islami
Leyaqatullah BabakarkhilKhost2,1766.4%mincumbentPashtun
Sahira SharifKhost2,1106.2%fincumbentPashtun
Maulawi Shazada ShaidKunar8,35911.8%mincumbent
Hajji SakhiKunar6,8279.7%mnewPashtun Hezbi Islami
Hajji Salih MuhammadKunar5,8538.3%mnewPashtun
Wagma SapaiKunar2,5383.6%fPashtun

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.[ original research? ]

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.

Wolesi Jirga 2010.svg
PartySeats
Jamiat-e Islami 17
People's Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan 11
National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan 10
Jamhori 9
Hezbe Wahdat 7
National Islamic Front 6
Afghan Millat Party 4
Islamic Dawah Organisation 4
National Solidarity Party 4
Islamic Movement 4
Hezbi Islami 1
National United Party 1
Adalat-e Islami 1
National Solidarity Movement 1
Wahdat Islami Millat-e 1
Hezbe Eqtedar Milli 1
Niaz Milli 1
New Afghanistan Party 1
Musharakat-e Milli 1
Republican Party 0
Total85
Source: National Democracy Institute

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan</span> Politics of the 2004–2021 Afghan state

The government of Afghanistan is currently disputed following the effective collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul to Taliban forces on 15 August 2021 and the subsequent re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which now exercises de facto control over most of the country. On 7 September 2021 the Taliban officials in de facto control of most of Afghanistan announced a new interim government headed by Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund as Prime Minister. The government is subject to the oversight of the Taliban's Supreme Leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada. As of 8 September 2021, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has not yet been formally recognized as the de jure government of Afghanistan by any other country. The representatives appointed by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan continue to represent the country at the United Nations. These representatives have refused to recognize the Taliban appointed government and have urged other countries to not recognize this government either.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Afghanistan</span> Defunct political office in Afghanistan

The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was constitutionally the head of state and head of government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021) and Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Afghan presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Afghanistan on October 9, 2004. Hamid Karzai won the elections with 55.4% of the vote and three times more votes than any other candidate. Twelve candidates received less than 1% of the vote. It is estimated that more than three-quarters of Afghanistan's nearly 12 million registered voters cast ballots. The elections were overseen by the Joint Electoral Management Body, chaired by Zakim Shah and vice-chaired by Ray Kennedy, an American working for the United Nations.

Though Afghanistan has had democratic elections throughout the 20th century, the electoral institutions have varied as changes in the political regime have disrupted political continuity. Elections were last held under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which was deposed by the Taliban in August 2021. The Taliban dissolved the Elections Commission in December 2021. In May 2022, when asked if the Taliban would hold elections, First Deputy Leader Sirajuddin Haqqani said the question was "premature". and from now to date 2023 sat 16 december 2023 afghanistan is ruled by taliban and have some redevelopment in recent days

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of the People (Afghanistan)</span> Lower house of the former legislature of Afghanistan

The House of Representatives of the People, or Da Afghanistan Wolesi Jirga, was the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, alongside the upper House of Elders.

Parliamentary elections were held in Afghanistan alongside provincial elections on 18 September 2005. Former warlords and their followers gained the majority of seats in both the lower house and the provincial council. Women won 28% of the seats in the lower house, six more than the 25% guaranteed in the 2004 constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Assembly (Afghanistan)</span> Former bicameral national legislature of Afghanistan

The National Assembly, also known as the Parliament of Afghanistan or simply as the Afghan Parliament, was the legislature of Afghanistan in various forms from the monarchy, republican, communist and democratic periods between 1931 and 2021. It was a bicameral body, comprising two chambers:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rangin Dadfar Spanta</span> Afghan politician (born 1954)

Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta is a politician in Afghanistan who last served as National Security Advisor of President Hamid Karzai. Prior to that he served as Foreign Minister from April 2006 to January 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Afghan presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Afghanistan on 20 August 2009. The election resulted in victory for incumbent Hamid Karzai, who received 49.67% of the vote, while his main rival Abdullah Abdullah finished second with 30.59% of the vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdullah Abdullah</span> Afghan politician (born 1960)

Abdullah Abdullah is an Afghan politician who led the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) from May 2020 until August 2021, when the Afghan government was overthrown by the Taliban. The council had been established to facilitate peace talks between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban insurgents. Abdullah served as the Chief Executive of Afghanistan from September 2014 to March 2020, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from December 2001 to April 2005. Prior to that, he was a senior member of the Northern Alliance, working as an adviser to Ahmad Shah Massoud. He worked as an ophthalmologist and medical doctor in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of Hamid Karzai</span> 2001–2014 government of Afghanistan

The Karzai administration was the government of Afghanistan under President Hamid Karzai, who became the head of state of Afghanistan in December 2001 after the Taliban government was overthrown. Karzai was appointed at the 2002 Loya Jirga as the Interim President of the Afghan Transitional Administration. After the 2004 Afghan presidential election, he became the President of Afghanistan.

Events from the year 2010 in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fauzia Gailani</span> Afghan politician (born 1971)

Fauzia Gailani was elected to represent Herat Province in Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of its National Legislature, in 2005. She won almost 16,885 votes, more than any other candidate in Herat.

Mawlawi Shahzada Shahid was elected to represent Kunar Province in Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of its National Legislature, in 2005.

Hasham Watanwal a representative for Uruzgan Province to Afghanistan's national legislature, the Wolesi Jirga, until he was assassinated on July 17, 2011.

Alhaj Abdul-Azeem Zulmay Mujadidi is a member of the Afghan Lower House of Parliament from the Badakhshan Province and one of President Hamid Karzai's most loyal followers in the northeast of Afghanistan.

The second Karzai cabinet was the cabinet of Afghanistan that led the government from the re-election of president Hamid Karzai in 2009 until the end of his term in 2014. The cabinet consisted of the president, his two vice-presidents, 18 ministers who received approval from the Afghan Parliament, and 7 acting ministers who have not been approved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Afghan presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Afghanistan on 5 April 2014, with a second round held on 14 June. Incumbent President Hamid Karzai was not eligible to run due to term limits. The registration period for presidential nominations was open from 16 September 2013 until 6 October 2013. A total of 27 candidates were confirmed to be running for office. However, on 22 October Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission disqualified 16 of the candidates, leaving only 11 in the race. By April 2014 three candidates gave up the race and decided to support some of the eight remaining candidates. Opinion polls showed Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani as the front-runners and indeed the results of the first round of the election had Abdullah in the lead and Ghani behind him. The second set of results came after the run-off on 14 June, two months after the first round. Preliminary results were expected on 2 July and the final result on 22 July. However, widespread accusations of fraud delayed these results. As a result, John Kerry, then United States Secretary of State, mediated the negotiations between the two final candidates, Ghani and Abdullah. After a series of negotiations and talks between Ghani, Abdullah and Kerry, the two candidates agreed to sign an Agreement to form a National Unity Government based on 50–50 power sharing. As a result of that political agreement, a separate position was created for Abdullah as Chief Executive. The National Unity Government's term ran out after the next Afghan presidential election was held in September 2019.

Parliamentary elections were held in Afghanistan on Saturday 20 October 2018 to elect members of the House of the People. 3,296,643 people voted, 42% of registered voters. They had originally been scheduled for 15 October 2016, but were initially postponed to 7 July 2018, and then again to 20 October. Much of the prelude to the elections focused on the debate over reforming the country's electoral laws. The current system is one of single non-transferable vote. Kandahar's election was held on October 27. Polls were also delayed in Ghazni, due to an intensifying Taliban insurgency in the province, and as of September 2020 still have not been held. The new Parliament was inaugurated on 26 April 2019.

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