A new faction is emerging in the Afghan parliament, made up of opposition figures, both former Mujahideen and members from the former Karzai government, are establishing themselves as a growing voice for reform, and pushing heavily for the Ghani government to fulfill former promises.
A big part of that is going to be a fresh election for parliament sometime in 2016, and the calling of another loya jirga for the discussion of constitutional reforms, warning Ghani that the “unity deal” is no substitute for a real vote.
Ghani was “elected” in a hotly disputed vote last year, in which the US ultimately negotiated a settlement that saw Ghani taking the presidency and Abdullah Abdullah installed as a “chief executive,” a position invented wholly for the purposes of claiming both sides won the vote.
This vote was the latest in a long line of corrupt, indecisive elections since the occupation, and has many in the new opposition bloc hoping for some major reforms that might make the results of future elections more democratic and less a function of which candidate’s allies are counting the ballots.