Report - United States Department of Defense

UNCLASSIFIED
Since the first post-2001 Parliament was elected in 2005, the Wolesi Jirga 33 has become
increasingly confident in its legislative role, as well as in its function to scrutinize the
government. General sessions of the Wolesi Jirga often entail heated discussions. The quota for
women has helped increase the role of Afghan women in decision and legislation making. There
are over 27 female Members of Parliament (MPs).
Parliamentary groups can be broadly divided into three groups: pro-government; political
opposition; and independents. Political parties are represented in Parliament, but not in
sufficient numbers to command a majority block. As a result, a significant number of
independent MPs, coalitions, and groupings are common. Coalitions within Parliament are not
stable, and their size tends to increase and decrease sporadically.
President Karzai’s administration has strong support in the current Parliament, elected in
September 2010, and is often able to rally majority votes behind new legislation. Although
President Karzai has an informal support base composed of a number of Parliamentary groups,
he sometimes has to rely on the support of Parliamentary groups aligned to his First Vice
President, Mohammed Fahim Khan, and Second Vice President, Karim Khalili. Although
President Karzai currently has adequate support from coalitions in Parliament to push through
legislation on certain issues, these coalitions also occasionally vote against executive branch
initiatives. There is no formal role for political parties in the Wolesi Jirga, making it a fluid and
dynamic legislative body. Given that no single party dominates the Lower House, voting
patterns can be difficult to predict and voting outcomes often depend on the issue at hand.
Unfortunately, the current political culture in both the Wolesi Jirga and the Meshrano Jirga is
often dominated by intimidation and corruption, and the purchasing of votes is common practice.
Although the issue of corruption remains a challenge across Afghanistan, the Parliament
continues to evolve and mature into a stronger oversight body which holds the other branches of
government to account.
Parliament’s legislative agenda for the spring will address important draft legislation, including
the Electoral Law and the Independent Election Commission Structure Law. Bills recommended
to the Meshrano Jirga by the Wolesi Jirga are almost always ratified by the Upper House.
However, President Karzai has strong support in the Meshrano Jirga and is able to use the Upper
House in certain cases where he is not content with changes made to bills by the Lower House.
For example, the Wolesi Jirga amended the IEC Structural Law and referred the same to the
Meshrano Jirga in 2012. Karzai was not content with the amendments and was able to rally
support in the Meshrano Jirga to reject the bill which was subsequently referred back to the
Wolesi Jirga. Upon reconvening in March 2013, a conference committee between the Wolesi
Jirga and the Meshrano Jirga will work to resolve differences in their two versions of the IEC
Structural Law.
USAID continues to assist Parliament members in both upper and lower houses, parliament staff,
leadership offices, and committees. In addition to institutional development, the USAID-funded
Afghanistan Parliamentary Assistance Project (APAP) activities improve Parliament’s
constituency outreach efforts, communications, information technology use, and legislative
reform and national budget review. USAID assistance strengthens the ability of the Parliament
33 The Wolesi Jirga is the lower house of the National Assembly of Afghanistan. The Meshrano Jirga is the upper house.
141