Order Code RS21922
Updated May 25, 2006
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Afghanistan: Elections, Constitution,
and Government
Kenneth Katzman
Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
In 2004 and 2005, Afghanistan adopted a permanent constitution and elected a
president and a parliament. The parliament is emerging as a significant force in Afghan
politics, as shown in debates over a new cabinet and the 2006 budget. See CRS Report
RL30588, Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy, by Kenneth
Katzman.
Post-Conflict Political Transition
Afghanistan has not previously had a fully elected government, although there were
parliamentary elections during the reign of King Zahir Shah, the last of which was in
1969. Presidential, parliamentary, and provincial elections, and adoption of a constitution
were part of a post-Taliban transition roadmap established by a United Nations-sponsored
agreement of major Afghan factions signed in Bonn, Germany on December 5, 2001,
after the Taliban had fled Kabul (“Bonn Agreement”).1 The Bonn meeting formed an
interim administration, led by Hamid Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun. A new constitution was
approved at a “constitutional loya jirga” (traditional Afghan assembly) in January 2004.
It set up a strong elected presidency, but, at the urging of the minority-dominated
“Northern Alliance” faction, it gave substantial powers to an elected parliament, such as
veto power over cabinet selections. It also provided for2
! Presidential elections (held by June 2004). Two vice presidents run on
the same election ticket as the president, and one succeeds him in the
event of the president’s death. They serve a five-year term, and
presidents are limited to two terms.
1 For text, see [http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/afghan/afghan-agree.htm].
2 Text of constitution, see [http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/currentconstitutionenglish.pdf].
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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! A parliament consisting of a 249-seat lower house (Wolesi Jirga, House
of People), to be elected simultaneously, if possible, with presidential
elections, and a 102-seat selected upper house (Meshrano Jirga, House
of Elders). For the elected lower house: ten seats are reserved for
Afghanistan’s Kuchis (nomads), and, at least 68 of those elected (two per
province, with 34 provinces) “should” be women, giving women about
25% of the seats. The top two women vote-getters in each province earn
seats.
! For the upper house, 34 seats are selected by provincial councils (one
from each of 34 provincial councils); another 34 are selected by nearly
400 district councils; and the final 34 are appointed by the President.
Half of the president’s 34 appointees are to be women. The provincial
and district councils were to be elected, simultaneously, if possible, with
the other elections. No major roles are stipulated for the provincial or
district councils, although they are likely to gain powers to impose local
taxes and provide local services.
! The constitution states that “no law can be contrary to the beliefs and
provisions of the sacred religion of Islam,” and says that men and women
have “equal rights and duties before the law.” Political parties can be
established so long as their charters “do not contradict the principles of
Islam,” and they do not have affiliations with other countries.
! The constitution does not impose Islamic law but provides for court
rulings “in accord with [the Hanafi school of] Islamic law,” when there
is no specific provision in the Constitution or other laws on that issue.
The October 2004 Presidential Election
Karzai sought to hold presidential elections by the June 2004 deadline to
demonstrate that he did not seek to monopolize power. However, there was an early
recognition that parliamentary, provincial, and district elections would be complicated to
organize and might be delayed. In July 2003, a joint Afghan-U.N. (U.N. Assistance
Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA) elections management body, the Joint Election
Management Body (JEMB), was set up. Even though a population census had never been
taken, it was estimated that 10.5 million would be eligible to vote. The voting age is 18.
Registration was slowed by violence in early 2004, and holding to the June 2004 schedule
was judged not feasible, but a firm presidential election date was set for October 9, 2004.
The parliamentary, provincial, and district elections were postponed (initially to April-
May 2005). A total of 10.5 million voters registered,3 of which about 42% were women.
On May 25, 2004, Karzai signed an election law 4 providing for district-based (voting for
candidates) rather than proportional representation (voting for party slates).
3 The International Organization of Migration, on behalf of the JEMB, conducted registration of
Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan, who were eligible to vote.
4 “New Afghan Election Law Endorsed.” Kabul Radio in Foreign Broadcast Information Service,
May 27, 2004.

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In advance of the vote, Karzai engaged in substantial political bargaining to try to
blunt opposition. Northern Alliance leaders, including former President Burhannuddin
Rabbani (the Alliance political leader) and Defense Minister Mohammad Fahim, sought
but did not reach agreement with Karzai to exchange support for him for a role in a
coalition cabinet. Instead, Karzai chose as his running mate Ahmad Zia Masud, brother
of legendary slain Alliance commander Ahmad Shah Masud, hoping to attract Tajik
support. His second running mate was Hazara community (Shiite Muslims) leader Karim
Khalili. The Northern Alliance fielded Education Minister Yunis Qanooni, who instantly
became the most serious challenger. Also running was Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid
Dostam, who has been part of the Northern Alliance, and 15 other candidates, including
Hazara leader Mohammad Mohaqiq and Dr. Masooda Jalal, the only woman who ran.
Security and Funding.
To secure the vote, the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF), the 37-nation NATO-led peacekeeping force, was reinforced
by 2,500 troops, bringing its total force to 9,000. The U.S.-trained Afghan National Army
(ANA), which had 15,000 at election time and now has about 29,000, performed election
security missions, along with the Afghan national police (about 50,000 nationwide).
Several hundred additional U.S. troops reinforced the 18,000 U.S. forces already there.
The vote was observed by about 400 international monitors from the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other groups, who mostly rebuffed
allegations by 15 challenging candidates that there had been widespread fraud, including
alleged failure of indelible ink to prevent multiple voting. International donors provided
more than $90 million in aid for the presidential elections, of which about $40 million
came from the United States (P.L. 108-106, FY2004 supplemental appropriation).
Results. Partly due to fewer security incidents than predicted, voter turnout was
heavy at about 80% (8 million votes cast). Karzai was declared the winner on November
3, 2004. He received about 4.4 million votes (55.4%), more than the 50% needed to
avoid a runoff. Qanooni was second with 1.3 million (16.3%); Mohaqiq, 935,000
(11.7%); Dostam, 800,000 (10%); and Masooda Jalal, 91,000 (1.1%). Karzai was sworn
into a five-year term on December 7, 2004, with Vice President Cheney in attendance.
On December 23, 2004, he announced a 27-seat cabinet that tilted somewhat more than
his previous administration toward Pashtuns, particularly in the key security ministries.
Most notably, Fahim was replaced as Defense Minister by his Pashtun deputy, Abdul
Rahim Wardak. Qanooni was not given a cabinet seat. Karzai also create a new Ministry
of Counter-Narcotics, headed by Habibullah Qaderi.
Parliamentary and Provincial Elections/New Parliament
On March 21, 2005, the Afghan Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)
announced that parliamentary and provincial elections would be held on September 18,
2005. District elections were postponed until 2006 (no date is yet scheduled) because of
the complexities of drawing district boundaries. The postponement meant that these
councils would not select their representatives to the upper house (Meshrano Jirga). In
the interim, the 34 provincial councils would select two representatives — one permanent
(full four-year term) and one interim. Each interim member is to be replaced by a district
council selectee when the district councils are elected.
The election system was the “Single Non-Transferable Vote System” (SNTV) in
which candidates stand as individuals, not as members of a party list. Each voter cast

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a ballot for only one candidate for the lower house, even though there were multiple
representatives per province — the number varying from 2 (Panjsher province) to 33
(Kabul province). Herat province has 17 representatives; Nangahar, 14; Qandahar, Balkh,
and Ghazni, 11 seats each. Each of the 34 provincial councils consists of between 9 and
29 seats (Kabul province is largest with 29). Some experts had urged that the
parliamentary election be conducted by proportional representation because there would
be less potential for local manipulation. That system was not adopted because of the fears
of empowering political parties, which are unpopular in Afghanistan because of the
mujahedin parties’ links to foreign governments during the anti-Soviet war. Even though
the vote was not party-based, 70 parties are registered with the Ministry of Justice.
There were a total of 2,815 candidates (including 347 women) for the lower house
and 3,185 candidates (including 279 women) for the provincial councils. Out of
Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, three (Nangahar, Uruzgan, and Zabol) did not have enough
female candidates for the provincial elections to ensure at least 25% female
representation; these seats remain vacant until the next election. During June 25-July 21,
over 2 million additional voters registered (those who came of age since the presidential
election or were not originally counted), bringing the total to about 12.5 million. The
OSCE and the European Union sent observer missions. An Electoral Complaints
Commission (ECC) initially disqualified 208 candidates for alleged ties to illegal militias;
some disarmed, others withdrew their candidacies. A final list of candidates was
published on July 12, with only 11 disqualified, although another 28 were later
disqualified, mostly for alleged links to armed groups. The September 2005 elections cost
about $159 million, all of which came from international donors. The United States
contributed about $44.9 million (P.L. 109-13, FY2005 supplemental appropriation).
Prior to the election, observers feared that stepped up Taliban insurgent violence in
Afghanistan could disrupt the elections, even though Taliban “spokespersons” said
polling places would not be targeted. Seven candidates were killed before the election
(and one after). Others perceived the main threat to the election as attempts by local
militia leaders and narcotics traffickers to influence the voting. Security measures were
similar to those put in place for the presidential elections. No major attacks on polling
centers were reported during the vote, although about 15 people were killed in election
day violence (including a French soldier). Turnout was lower than expected — about
57% (about 6.8 million voters), which was widely attributed to voter confusion over the
large numbers of candidates on each ballot and high voter illiteracy. Candidates were
identified on the ballot with symbols and photographs. Observers did express concerns
about apparent fraud (mostly proxy voting in some districts), and JEMB investigations
of balloting complaints delayed publication of final results until November 12, 2005.5
Results and New Parliament.6 The results largely confirmed expectations that
many seats would go to prominent national and local personalities and factional
groupings. Although Karzai himself did not form a party, observers say that Karzai
supporters are about 60% of the parliament. Among the pro-Karzai parliamentarians is
his elder brother, Qayyum (Qandahar Province). About 40 parliamentarians are from the
5 Results are available at [http://www.jemb.org/].
6 Some of the information in this section is taken from author participation in a House Democracy
Assistance Commission assessment visit to Afghanistan during February 26-March 2, 2006.

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Hizb-e-Islam party of anti-U.S. former mujahedin leader Gulbuddin Hikmatyar, but they
have renounced violence and are said to support Karzai.
An “opposition” bloc is the 14-party, pro-Northern Alliance “National
Understanding Front,” led by Yunus Qanooni, who purportedly wants to run again for
president, and former president Rabbani. Both say they want to work cooperatively with
Karzai’s government, but they appear to have assembled a formidable parliamentary bloc.
They engineered Qanooni’s selection as speaker in December 2005, beating back a
challenge from Abd-i-Rab Rasul Sayyaf (Kabul Province), a prominent mujahedin party
leader and Islamic conservative who was backed by Karzai for the speakership. Two
deputy lower house speakers were selected on December 22: the first deputy is Aref
Nurzai (a relative by marriage to the Karzai clan); the other is Kawzia Kofi, a Tajik
woman from Rabbani’s home province (Badakhshan).
Introducing further texture to the lower house is the presence of reputed militia
leaders, former officials of the Soviet occupation-era Communist regime, and Taliban era
figures who renounced violence. The feared Soviet-era Interior Minister, Sayed
Muhammad Gulabzoi, won a seat from Khost Province. Shanawaz Tanai, the Soviet-era
Defense Minister, was not elected. Of the former Taliban candidates, Abdul Salam
Rocketi (“Mullah Rocketi”), won from Zabol province, and Mohammad Islam
Mohammadi, who ran Bamiyan Province during the Taliban rule and who cooperated
with the Taliban’s destruction of the large Buddha statues in Bamiyan in early 2001, won
from Samangan province. Some accounts say that at least another six elected members
were Taliban officials or military commanders. The Taliban-era Foreign Minister Wakil
Mutawwakil lost, as did the former enforcer of the Taliban’s puritanical restrictions,
Maulvi Qalamuddin. A reputed militia leader who won a seat is Hazrat Ali (Nangarhar
Province), who had gained fame for directing the Afghan component of the assault on the
Al Qaeda redoubt in the Tora Bora mountains during the U.S.-led war. Another elected
member is Pacha Khan Zadran, a local leader from Paktia Province who, by some
accounts, helped Osama bin Laden escape from Tora Bora during the U.S. offensive there.
However, a prevailing view in Kabul is that all faction leaders are now committed to
peaceful debate in parliament rather than violence.
A number of unaffiliated, well-educated Afghans also won, including several
prominent women. They include 27-year-old Malalai Joya (Farah Province), an
outspoken women’s rights advocate who is emerging as a leading government critic in the
new parliament. Another female winner is Fauzia Gailani, who came in first in
conservative Herat Province, and Shukria Barekzai, editor of Woman Mirror magazine.
One of the few intellectuals elected was Ramazan Bashardost, a male former Karzai
government minister who is emerging as a major champion of constitutional procedure
and parliamentary prerogatives. The U.S.-based International Republican Institute (IRI)
is working to organize and train the estimated 93 lower house “independents; “ the
National Democratic Institute (NDI) is assisting the larger, organized factions.
Karzai has fewer critics in the upper house, although that body lacks the powers
(appointment and budgetary review) of the lower house. After making his 34
appointments to that body (including the mandated 17 women), he supported an ally,
Sibghatullah Mojadeddi (who heads a reconciliation and amnesty commission) as its
Speaker. Mojadeddi narrowly defeated university chancellor, Bakhtar Aminzay, for that
post. Karzai also appointed Fahim, representing a further effort to coopt the Northern

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Alliance leaders; as well as reputed drug trafficker and former Helmand Province
governor Sher Mohammad Akhund, and former Taliban religious affairs deputy minister
Arsala Rahmani. The deputy speaker is Hamid Gaylani, a generally pro-Karzai family
that has five members in the parliament (both houses).
After a one-week training session, both houses were inaugurated on December 19,
with Vice President Cheney attending. Assisting the members is a staff of about 275
Afghans, reporting to a parliament “secretariat.” Staff was hired a year before parliament
convened, and they and the members are receiving assistance and training from the U.N.
Development Program and the State University of New York (SUNY) under an $8
million contract with USAID. It has formed 18 committees to oversee governmental
functions; each committee has two staff members. The parliament has a small research
group and a relatively small library. The parliament’s budget is controlled by the
government (Ministry of Finance).
Parliament-Executive Relations and Implications. The completion of the
series of elections (with the exception of the district councils) is considered a major
milestone that has given the Afghan government additional strength and legitimacy. On
the other hand, the new parliament has already begun to slow government decision-
making and cause Karzai to proceed somewhat more cautiously in his close relationship
with the United States. Immediately after it was seated, parliament called for the
dismantling of (mostly U.S.-run) “security barriers” in Kabul.
In February 2006, the Qanooni/Rabbani grouping achieved a lower house vote to
review Karzai’s cabinet individually, rather than en bloc, significantly increasing their
leverage over Karzai’s nominees. That perceived defeat prompted some to argue that
Karzai needs to develop a party structure to better organize his supporters. However,
Karzai rallied his followers in the confirmation process; only five of his 25 cabinet
nominees (announced March 22, 2006) were rejected, fewer than expected. (Three
ministers were declared confirmed after receiving plurality votes.) Among those
confirmed was Dr. Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, a Pashtun who replaced the well known
Northern Alliance figure Dr. Abdullah. Karzai’s one female nominee, as well as his
proposed culture minister who had allowed distribution of Western-oriented films, were
rejected due to opposition from parliament conservatives. The other three rejected were
the ministers of economy (a Karzai ally, rejected for perceived poor performance); of
commerce; and of transportation.
In May 2006, the parliament began its review of Karzai’s nine appointments to the
Supreme Court, the highest judicial body. Karzai reappointed the 73-year-old Islamic
conservative Fazl Hadi Shinwari as chief justice, an appointment made to build support
among Islamic hardliners throughout Afghanistan. The reappointment reportedly has
incurred substantial opposition from reformists, but the review is continuing. His other
eight nominees are generating broader support in parliament. Also in May, the parliament
voted down Karzai’s March 2006-March 2007 budget because the proposed spending
plan did not raise civil service salaries. About $500 million of Afghanistan’s $900
million operating budget comes from international donors, who reportedly opposed civil
service salary increases. Another $1.2 billion in development spending comes solely from
international donors, and parliament is attempting to ensure that projects are spread
equitably to Afghanistan’s regions and ethnicities.

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