Afghan parliamentary election, 1969

Last updated March 06, 2019

From August 29 to September 11, 1969 Afghanistan held its second free parliamentary election since the introduction of the constitution in 1964, with 2,030 candidates standing for the 216 seats of the House of the People ^[1] and for one-third of the House of Elders. The single-member plurality electoral system was used.^[2]

The Constitution of Afghanistan is the supreme law of the state of Afghanistan, which serves as the legal framework between the Afghan government and the Afghan citizens. Although Afghanistan was made a state in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, the earliest Afghan constitution was written during the reign of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan in the 1890s followed by the 1923 version. The 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan transformed Afghanistan into a modern democracy.

The House of Representatives of the People or Majles-e-Namayendagan Afghanistan in Persian and Wolesi Jirga in Pashtu and Turkic, is the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly of Afghanistan, alongside the upper House of Elders.

Results

Many conservative local landowners who had shunned the previous elections in 1965 and 1967 campaigned for office and won seats. Since political parties were not legalized in time for the elections, most of the candidates were men of local prominence again chosen for their personal prestige rather than their political views.^[3]

Whilst four PDPA members had been elected in the 1965 election, in 1969 only 2 were elected; Babrak Karmal in Kabul, and Hafizullah Amin in Paghman. The Parcham faction of the PDPA, favoured by Karmal, was particularly disappointed with the result, being supportive of gradual moves towards socialism. In the face of the results Parcham resumed their alliance with "progressive" elements in the Afghan ruling elite. Amin had been the only member of the Khalq faction elected to parliament, and his election increased his standing within the group, which opposed the kind of broad collaboration advocated by Parcham.^[4]

Babrak Karmal politician, former Afghan head of state (1979-1986)

Babrak Karmal was an Afghan politician who was installed as President of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union when they invaded in 1979. Karmal was born in Kamari and educated at Kabul University. When the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) was formed, Karmal became one of its leading members, having been introduced to Marxism by Mir Akbar Khyber during his imprisonment for activities deemed too radical by the government. He eventually became the leader of the Parcham faction when the PDPA split in 1967, with their ideological nemesis being the Khalq faction. Under Karmal's leadership, the Parchamite PDPA participated in Mohammad Daoud Khan's rise to power in 1973, and his subsequent regime. While relations were good at the beginning, Daoud began a major purge of leftist influence in the mid-1970s. This in turn led to the reformation of the PDPA in 1977, and Karmal played a major role in the 1978 Saur Revolution when the PDPA took power, though in later years he denounced it.

Kabul District is a district of Kabul Province, Afghanistan. The seat lies at Kabul.

Hafizullah Amin was an Afghan communist politician during the Cold War. Amin was born in Paghman and educated at Kabul University, after which he started his career as a teacher. After a few years in that occupation, he went to the United States to study. He would visit the United States a second time before moving permanently to Afghanistan, and starting his career in radical politics. He ran as a candidate in the 1965 parliamentary election but failed to secure a seat. Amin was the only Khalqist elected to parliament in the 1969 parliamentary election, thus increasing his standing within the party. He was one of the leading organisers of the Saur Revolution which overthrew the government of Mohammad Daoud Khan.

Islamic revolutionary groups only began formally organizing after the election, and had no representation in the parliament. The parliament did however contain an Islamic conservative bloc.^[4]

Other than the dominance of conservative landowners and businessmen, the election also saw the parliament become more ethnically representative, with a far greater number of non-Pashtuns being elected. The election also saw the decline of liberal voices, with most urban liberal losing their seats, and all female delegates losing their seats. Other than Karmal and Amin, there were few leftists in the new parliament, with Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal, the former Prime Minister and a vocal democratic-socialist, losing his seat as a result of government interference.^[5]

Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal was an Afghan politician during the reign of Zahir Shah.

The Kabul Times reported that turnout was 60% of registered, though with only 16.6% of the country as registered voters.;^[6] Nur Ahmad Etemadi became the new Prime Minister.

Prime Minister of Afghanistan former governmental position in Afghanistan (1927–1997)

The Prime Minister of Afghanistan was a post in the Afghan government. The position was created in 1927 as an official appointed by the King of Afghanistan. The holder served mostly as an advisor, until the end of the Kingdom of Afghanistan in 1973. During the 1980s, the position was the head of government.

Aftermath

Whilst somewhat more reflective of Afghanistan as a whole, the new parliament was plagued by lethargy and deadlock, with only 1 minor bill being passed in the 1969/1970 session. Amid growing polarisation in politics, the King came under increasing criticism (although he maintained his personal popularity) over his political decisions, such as not putting forward his own Prime Ministerial candidate, and from withholding consent from legislation such as the political parties bill.^[5]

Some critics focused not on the King, but other members of the royal family, particularly General Sardar Shah Wali Khan, the Kings cousin; son-in-law; and a prominent military figure. Wali was particularly hated by Afghan leftists for having ordered Afghan troops to fire on demonstrations in October 1965. Other major issues involved the governments poor response to the 1972 famine, which had left up to 100,000 Afghans dead. Simultaneously, there was increasing public dissent over the lack of stable governance, with Afghanistan having had 5 Prime Ministers since 1963.^[5]

Amid this atmosphere of instability and dissent Mohammed Daoud Khan launched his 1973 coup d'etat, ending the Afghan monarchy.^[5]

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Mohammad Najibullah politician and former President of Afghanistan (1987-1992)

Najibullah Ahmadzai ; February 1947 – 27 September 1996), commonly known as Najibullah or Dr. Najib, was the President of Afghanistan from 1987 until 1992, when the mujahideen took over Kabul. He had previously held different careers under the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and was a graduate of Kabul University. Following the Saur Revolution and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, Najibullah was a low profile bureaucrat: he was sent into exile as Ambassador to Iran during Hafizullah Amin's rise to power. He returned to Afghanistan following the Soviet intervention which toppled Amin's rule and placed Babrak Karmal as head of state, party and government. During Karmal's rule, Najibullah became head of the KHAD, the Afghan equivalent of the Soviet KGB. He was a member of the Parcham faction led by Karmal.

The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, renamed in 1987 to the Republic of Afghanistan, commonly known as Afghanistan, existed from 1978 to 1992, during which time the socialist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) ruled Afghanistan.

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Nur Muhammad Taraki was an Afghan communist statesman during the Cold War who served as President of Afghanistan from 1978 to 1979. Taraki was born near Kabul and educated at Kabul University, after which he started his political career as a journalist. He later became one of the founding members of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and was elected as the party's general secretary at its first congress. He ran as a candidate in the 1965 Afghan parliamentary election but failed to secure himself a seat. In 1966 he published the first issue of Khalq, a party newspaper, but it was closed down shortly afterwards by the government. He led the Khalq wing of the PDPA. In 1978 Taraki, along with Hafizullah Amin and Babrak Karmal initiated the Saur Revolution and established the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

Sultan Ali Keshtmand, sometimes transliterated Kishtmand, born May 22, 1935, in Kabul, was an Afghan politician. He served twice as Chairman of the Council of Ministers during the 1980s, from 1981 to 1988 and from 1989 to 1990 in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

This article gives information on elections in Afghanistan.

Khalq was a faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Its historical leaders were Presidents Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin. It was also the name of the leftist newspaper produced by the same movement. It was supported by the USSR and was formed in 1965 when the PDPA was born. The Khalqist wing of the party was made up primarily of Pashtuns from non-elite classes. However, their Marxism was often a vehicle for tribal resentments. Bitter resentment between the Khalq and Parcham factions eventually led to the failure of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan government that was formed as a result of the Saur Revolution in 1978. It was also responsible for the radical reforms and brutal dissident crackdowns that encouraged the rebellion of the religious segments present in the Afghan society, which led to the creation of the Mujahideen and, eventually, to the Soviet military intervention in December 1979.

The Politburo of the Central Committee of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), Afghan Politburo, was the policy-making organ and institution within the Afghanistan's political structure when the PDPA Central Committee and the PDPA Congress were not in session. Only one politburos was formally elected; at the 1st Congress, despite this, the membership line-up was altered numerous times during the PDPA's existence.

Abdul Qadir (Afghan communist) Afghan politician

Colonel Abdul Qadir was born in Herat and trained as a pilot in the Soviet Union. In 1973 he also participated in the coup d'etat that created the Republic of Afghanistan under the Presidency of Mohammad Daoud Khan. In 1978 he was the leader of the Afghan Air Force squadrons that attacked the Radio-TV station during the Saur Revolution. He served as the leader of the country for three days when the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) took power and declared the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

The Saur Revolution, also called the April Revolution or April Coup, was a coup d'état led by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) against the rule of Afghan President Mohammed Daoud Khan on 27–28 April 1978. Daoud Khan and most of his family were killed at the presidential palace. The revolution resulted in the creation of a government with Nur Muhammad Taraki as President, and was the precursor to the 1979 intervention by the Soviets and the 1979–1989 Soviet–Afghan War against the Mujahideen.

The following lists events that happened during 1978 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened during 1979 in Afghanistan.

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Mir Akbar Khyber was an Afghan left-wing intellectual and a leader of the Parcham faction of People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). His assassination led to the overthrow of Mohammed Daoud Khan's republic, and to the advent of a socialist regime in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

The Revolutionary Council of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) ruled the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1978 until its collapse in 1992. The council was the supreme state power under the communist regime and was a carbon copy of the Supreme Soviet. The point with the council was to convene on a semiannual basis to approve decisions made by the presidium.

Anahita Ratebzad Afghan Marxist and member of the Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan

Anahita Ratebzad was an Afghan socialist and Marxist politician and a member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and the Revolutionary Council under the leadership of Babrak Karmal. Ratebzad was Afghanistan's deputy head of state from 1980 to 1986.

Elections were held in Afghanistan in September, 1965. Women voted for the first time in Afghan elections. The election took place using the single-member plurality electoral system.

References

↑ Elections in Asia and the Pacific-A Data Handbook. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 504. ISBN 0-19-924958-X.
↑ Elections in Asia and the Pacific-A Data Handbook. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 508. ISBN 0-19-924958-X.
↑ Roberts, Jeffery J. (2003). The Origins of Conflict in Afghanistan. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 218.
1 2 The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System. 2002. p. 101.
1 2 3 4 Alikuzai, Hamid Wahed (2013). A Concise History of Afghanistan in 25 Volumes: Volume 1. Trafford Publishing. p. 362.
↑ Elections in Asia and the Pacific-A Data Handbook. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 510. ISBN 0-19-924958-X.

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[1] Elections in Asia and the Pacific-A Data Handbook. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 504. ISBN 0-19-924958-X.

[2] Elections in Asia and the Pacific-A Data Handbook. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 508. ISBN 0-19-924958-X.

[3] Roberts, Jeffery J. (2003). The Origins of Conflict in Afghanistan. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 218.

[Fragment_101-4] 1 2 The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System. 2002. p. 101.

[Concise_362-5] 1 2 3 4 Alikuzai, Hamid Wahed (2013). A Concise History of Afghanistan in 25 Volumes: Volume 1. Trafford Publishing. p. 362.

[6] Elections in Asia and the Pacific-A Data Handbook. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 510. ISBN 0-19-924958-X.

v t e Elections in Afghanistan
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Parliamentary elections	1931 1934 1937 1940 1943 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1965 1969 1988 2005 2010 2018

Afghan parliamentary election, 1969

Contents

Results

Aftermath

Related Research Articles

References