Afghanistan’s Grand Council, or Loya Jirga, was postponed again today, the second time this week. It had been scheduled to start Wednesday, but difficulties have forced delays.
The Loya Jirga is charged with approving a constitution for Afghanistan. I have posted about my displeasure with the draft Afghani constitution here and here, and the difficulty it has caused in drafting an Iraqi constitution here.
The draft constitution was unveiled last month. It declares Afghanistan an Islamic republic and would establish a powerful presidency and a bicameral legislature. The president would be commander in chief of the military, appoint one-third of the legislature's upper house and name judges, military officers, police and national security officials. The draft constitution also guarantees a role for women in government and their right to an education.
Many reasons have been offered for the postponement of the Loya Jirga. The Associated Press reported that the delay was due, in part to inclement weather.
Reuters reports that some delegates said the main reason for the delay was that Karzai had been having to work harder than expected to convince delegates to back him. Another reason cited by Reuters was that some officials said, was that former monarch, Mohammad Zahir Shah, who now has the title "father of the nation," considers the 13th an unlucky day.
According to Reuters there has been protracted wrangling over sweeping powers demanded by President Hamid Karzai. Regional strongmen and warlords have used fraud and intimidation to get their supporters elected to the Loya Jirga. Candidates reported being threatened and some were bribed to drop their candidacies.
The evil doer Taliban remnants have vowed to disrupt the assembly and have said anyone attending deserved to die.
This is a critical step in bringing democracy to Afghanistan. There should be little doubt that such a convocation, the equivalent to our constitutional convention, would be rife with political intrigue. Hopefully the evil doer Taliban remnants will not be able to interfere with the Loya Jirga.
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