I would like to offer my sincerest appreciation and respect to my supervisor for making this project a reality through the guidance and corrections throughout my research. Specifically, I acknowledge your support regarding the literature I used for conducting the research. I also thank my comrades for supporting me in the course of writing the dissertation.
Abstract
This research project evaluates and examines how power is shared among ethnic minorities in Afghanistan and the impact it has on the society. Furthermore, the study examines the role of ethnicity in political power sharing. The research focused on the background of four ethnic minorities; Pashtun, Hazara, Tajik and Uzbek and how power is shared amongst them.
The study used both primary and secondary sources. The literature review which included books, articles, reports, and journals that provided an academic and theoretical understanding of the topic. The primary sources included interviews that provided an empirical understanding of political power sharing among ethnic minorities and its impacts on the society.
The study found out that there is inequality in power sharing in Afghanistan and the consequences were the frequent agitation from communities which feel oppressed. Due to political power inequality, the distribution of national resources also targeted particular ethnic groups while ignoring some. The researcher noticed that ethnicity is a significant challenge to equality and thereby recommended different systems of governance for the country.
Key words: Afghanistan, power-sharing, democracy, ethnicity.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements. 2
Abstract 3
Table of Contents. 4
Chapter One: Introduction. 6
Statement of the Problem.. 6
Research Questions. 6
Methodology. 7
Significance of the Research. 7
Research Objectives. 8
Outline of the Dissertation. 8
Chapter Two:Literature Review.. 9
Background of Ethnic Groups. 9
Pashtun. 9
Hazara. 10
Tajiks. 11
Uzbeks. 12
Human Rights. 13
Democracy. 15
Presidential elections. 17
Parliamentary elections. 18
Political Divisions among Ethnic Groups. 19
Historical overview of the ethnic political divisions. 19
Politicisation of ethnicity. 20
Power sharing in two recent elections. 21
The Impact of Unequal Power Sharing. 22
Chapter Three:Design. 24
Introduction. 24
Sample Selection. 24
Methodology. 24
Research Procedure. 25
Data Analysis and Processing. 25
Chapter Four:Findings. 27
Introduction. 27
Democracy and Human Rights. 27
Political Power Sharing. 29
Chapter Five:Evaluation. 33
The Unequal Power-Sharing in Afghanistan. 33
The Impact of Inequality in the Society. 35
Chapter Six:Conclusion and Recommendations. 36
Conclusion. 36
Recommendations. 36
Parliamentary democracy. 37
Federal government 37
References. 39
Appendix. 43
Interviews. 43
T.A.P-10/01/2018. 43
Habibulla Fayeq (UG political sociology student)-15/01/2018. 45
WB -20/01/2018. 48
Soria Roshan -18/01/2018. 51
How Political Power Divided among Ethnic Minorities in Afghanistan, and Critically Evaluates its Impact in Society
Chapter One: Introduction
Statement of the Problem
The study aims at investigating how political power is shared among ethnic minorities in Afghanistan and critically evaluate its impacts on the society. The study looks at how power is shared among minority groups such as Pashtuns, Hazaras, Tajik, and Uzbek. Today, foreign governments through the international organisations are working by spending millions of dollars to reduce poverty, inequality and restore democratization in countries such as Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a country that can be said to traditionally representing a weak state in self-motivated relations. The nation is facing unstable structures of governance thus it is hugely vulnerable to outside interference. United Nations’ poverty index reports that Afghanistan falls in the poorest countries list. Furthermore, Afghanistan is the only nation to have been occupied by three leading supremacies – the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and US (Saikal 2012, p.80).
Despite the permanent presence of many human rights activists and organisations like the United Nations and the European Union that protect human rights and solve arising conflicts between the ethnicities in the country, their impacts are yet to be realised. It seems there is less attention to the crisis in Afghanistan.
Research Questions
1. What is the role of the Afghan government in implementing democracy and how is power shared among the minorities?
2. What is the impact and consequences of ethnic conflict and inequality in the society?
3. What are the main challenges of political power division and the role of international community in managing the conflict?
4. What is the variance in the theoretical understanding of political power-sharing among ethnicities, democracy, and human rights?
Methodology
The research attempts to elaborate how power is shared among ethnicities in Afghanistan and critically evaluating the impacts of the power-sharing arrangement in the society. In doing so, the study is anchored on analysis of the primary and secondary sources. The secondary sources entail a range of materials like books, reports academic pieces, journals and articles which gives a theoretical and hypothetical understanding of the subject. The primary sources involve interviews which provide a pragmatic assessment to understanding how power is shared among the ethnic minorities in Afghanistan and its impact on the society.
Significance of the Research
Findings from this thesis adds to the existing knowledge in political science field by providing insights on the social phenomena of political power-sharing. The thesis focuses on a case study that offers a unique angle of the division of power among ethnic groups. Afghanistan is unique in the sense that it has not long time ago experienced the collapse of the Taliban and the so-called new beginning. Moreover, the country has struggled to get it right as far as politics and economy are concerned. The widely used in the study is the Hazara Enlightenment Movement whose role is essential for scrutiny in the midst of the ethnic struggles in Afghanistan. It is necessary to find out the impacts of the group’s activities in the society.
Research Objectives
1. To understand the role of the Afghan government in implementing democracy and how power is shared among the minorities.
2. To evaluate the impact and consequences of ethnic conflict and inequality in the society.
3. To identify the main challenges of political power division and examine the role of international community in managing the conflict.
4. To determine the variance in the theoretical understanding of political power sharing among ethnicities, democracy, and human rights.
Outline of the Dissertation
This thesis contains six chapters. The introduction covers the statement of the problem, research questions, a brief on methodology and significance of the study. The second section is the literature review which provides the background of the study and also the secondary sources for the research. Among the issues discussed include the background of four ethnic minorities; Pashtun, Hazara, Tajik and Uzbek in Afghanistan. The chapter also looks at issues around human rights, democracy and political divisions among ethnicities in Afghanistan.
The third chapter is the design of the study. The chapter describes the design used to carry out the research which involved both primary and secondary sources. In the chapter, issues of sample selection, methodology, research procedure, and the process of data analysis and processing are the main focus. Chapter four presents the findings of the study form both primary and secondary sources. Chapter five is the evaluation of the findings while the last chapter is the conclusion and recommendations of the study. Chapter six contains the conclusion and recommendation of the study.
Chapter Two: Literature Review
This section delivers the contextual analysis of the ethnic groups of Afghanistan and the relevant information on power sharing among ethnic minorities and the impacts it has in the society. The materials reviewed included books, articles, journals, reports, and academic materials. Human rights, democracy, and political power-sharing are the main elements guiding this study.
Background of Ethnic Groups
In all of the Afghan minorities, Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Hazaras are the largest groups. The Library of Congress Country Studies in 2008 roughly estimated the ethnic population at 42 % for the Pashtun, Tajik, 27%, Hazara, 9%, and Uzbek, 9 % of the entire population. However, no authorized documentation can verify the approximations since no appropriate census or biometrics has been ever done to substantiate the estimations (Helweg and Mousavi 1999, p. 773). According to Siddique (2012), the absence of a census also makes it difficult to establish ethnic composition (p. 2). Therefore, the estimations remain questionable after all.
Pashtun
The Pashtun are the biggest tribe in Afghanistan living in the east and south section. The Sunni Muslims are regarded as the historic founders of the Kingdom of Afghanistan which has dominated political power to date. Despite the political dominance, there have been tribal divisions amongst themselves leading to sub-tribes with their boundaries. The community has never been homogeneous, and many of them also fall prey to the tyranny by the political elites within them. However, despite their bickering, they have often rallied together whenever challenged externally by other communities.
Their dominant role in politics has always catalysed the conflict within Afghanistan. During the Taliban regime which observed stringent and contentious understanding of Shari’a law, there was a grave desecration of human rights and ethnic isolation. The regime led to severe poverty in the country that culminated into food insecurity and massive emigration for many people in Afghanistan. During the suffering of other minority tribes, the Pashtuns received a favourable treatment hence buffeting against the tough times since they were in power.
However, the political dominance of the group has since declined. There seems to be a significant modification of the historical power balance. Today, the Uzbeks and Tajiks who formed the Northern Alliance tend to dominate the central government. The less privileged position the Pashtuns are currently holding has led to dissatisfaction among them. In the final results in the 2010 parliamentary elections, their candidates from different provinces protested being systematically isolated, through intimidation and deceit, from the process of electing the Members of Parliament.
Hazara
The Hazara group is one of distinction that is different from other ethnicities by religion and nature. Historically, persecution has been the definition of the Hazara since they are the minority Shi’ite Muslims in the midst of Afghan’s prevailing Sunni Muslims. They occupy Hazarajat, the central Afghanistan that is nearly inaccessible due to the ruggedness of the mountains (Minority Rights Group 2018, p. 1). The group was at one point the largest in Afghanistan with almost 67 percent of the population during the 19th century. However, many of them were massacred in 1893, and their autonomy lost due to civil action. During the 1978 to 2001 war in Afghanistan, many of the Hazaras just like other Afghans ran to Iran and Pakistan. Later, some of the returning refugees stay in Kabul and explore casual opportunities in labour market and services, but the majority went back to their homelands.
The community is the most suppressed minority that has witnessed little development for their condition despite the changes experienced in modern Afghanistan. The Hazara claim they have suffered yet they are the most hardworking (Canfield 2004, p.1). Even though President Karzai appointed six of them to his cabinet, there seems to be continued segregation that they encounter. Their poor social and economic status has led to their ethnic division between them and the rest. According to Hucal (2018), the community is still under threat due to growing insecurity (p.1).
Tajiks
The Tajiks are second in prominence after the Pashtuns. The bulk of Afghanistan’s elite come from the Tajik minority ethnic group. Due to their wealth and high levels of education, the group has a significant influence economically, socially and politically (Minority Rights Group 2018, p. 1). Earlier on in the pre-Soviet era, the Tajiks used to live in Kabul’s environs, but have now spread across the country with a major concentration in the west across to northern Afghanistan.
Historically, the Tajiks had a close relationship with the Durrani dynasty of Afghanistan which enabled them to acquire wealth and advanced education opportunities. That ties caused them trouble when the Durrani regime was overthrown. Their land was shelled, and they were forcibly evacuated. They mobilised to defend their wealth through the formation of various resistance movements.
Their political stature radically changed after the US-led coalition helped overthrow the Pashtun-conquered Taliban regime in 2001. The interim government of 2002 was led by Hamid Karzai of the Pashtun community, but the Tajiks dominated the government.
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks live in northern Afghanistan and are not so many as they constitute merely 9 percent of Afghanistan’s total population. The group has a tribal identity which defines their societal structures that is even reflected in their socio-political life. They have had significant influence in the Afghan cultural practices through music and sports.
The Uzbeks arrived in the country as migrants between 1920s and 1930s while they were escaping suppression by the Soviet Union after the unsuccessful revolution. The Soviet Union conducted a divide and rule policy that ensured they quell the Pashtuns superiority mostly in the north where the Uzbeks were significantly present. The strategy was comparatively effective in stopping the Pashtuns’ influence who were the major resistance of the Soviets in Kabul. The Uzbeks were accorded a degree of autonomy and then trained in preparation to fight the Mujahidin. It occurred for the first time except for the days of rebellion in Afghanistan that the Uzbeks, Hazaras, and Tajiks got a chance to exercise full administrative autonomy. The group was part of the northern alliance that ousted the Taliban regime hence gaining a more influential position in the politics of the country.
However, the research will specifically focus on the situation and experiences of the Hazaras as one of the ethnic minorities in Afghanistan that has suffered persecutions historically and are still facing political segregation even today. As mentioned upfront, the Hazaras are the third largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. According to Saikal (2012), they occupy central Afghanistan referred to as Hazarajat which comprises various provinces including Maydan Wardak, Daikundi, Bamyan, and sections of the capital, Kabul (p. 81). Saikal also argues that the history of Hazara can be traced back to the Bamyan Greco-Buddhist background where they had over 5, 000 statues that would be later destroyed by the Taliban.
The continued discrimination against and persecution of the Hazaras would later have implications that are unbearable for the new generation of the community. The new generation stood up for their rights, for example, when the government redirected the significant national developments such as electricity transmission away from them. For instance, the electricity transmission line popularly referred to as TUTAP runs from Bamyan to Salang Pass which is mostly inhabited by Pashtuns and Tajiks (Ruttig 2016, p.1). The diversion of the project brought thousands of people into the streets, and the conflict over the issue continues to date. The protest in Kabul against the diversion of the 500KV power line by President Ashraf Ghani’s government was backed by Hazaras Enlightenment Movement (Mitra 2018 pp. 1).
Human Rights
The logical discussion on human rights was a leading question for various academics over time to focus on the moral values of political society and the behaviour of contemporary society (Arvan 2014, p. 17-47). However, Aristotle, a Greek philosopher and the first designer of the human right law argued that all humans are born equally; hence they should have equal rights (Franke 2013, p. 367). Due to protracted wars, violations and inequality worldwide, scholars and politicians came up with a universal law on human rights. The universal agreement includes the privileges and liberties everybody should be permitted to irrespective of their gender, nationality, ethnicity, race, language, and religion (Rubin 2013, p. 567-581).
The international agreements and laws secure and ensure these freedoms through the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights); the basis of a global arrangement that defends human rights (UN.org 1948, p.1). The UN approved the UDHR in 1948, but currently, evidence exists to show that some countries are unsuccessful in protecting and maintaining the values. Even the United Nations have not met the expectations to some extent regarding protection of these principles particularly in various parts of Africa and Asia.
Some researchers even contend that contemporary arrangement of universal human rights is unlikely to achieve its fundamental objectives. The assertions of protecting human rights and the universal principle are only meant to push political alignments, yet they are probably not accomplished (Franke 2013, p. 368). According to Franke, that Immanuel Kant believed that the real results of the international values are imperfect. Franke (2013) mentions that the popular theory mostly achieves power instead of practical determinations of socio-political activities (p. 367-370).
Specific literature shows that the freedoms of people are normally safeguarded by the ultimate law of constitutions in which the popular rule is narrow and recognised by the rest. Just like Patrick asserts, the most important code of constitutional democracy is the majority rule to protect the minority rights, and many Constitutions guarantee the civil liberties, rights and freedoms (Patrick 2006, p. 58). The essence of legitimate democracy is to allow the majority rule to protect the minority.
Afghanistan is an Islamic country that has a directly elected president, bicameral legislature and the judiciary. However, the civilian authorities normally maintain control over the security apparatus, even though at certain times, the security apparatus act independently. Widespread violence such as indiscriminative civilian attacks by deadly insurgent groups, disregard of the rule of law and poor response to human rights concerns are some of the most significant problems. Other matters are extrajudicial executions by security powers which culminate in poor investigations, arbitrary detention and arrests, and corruption in the judiciary.
According to Akhlaq of the Huffington Post, the current human rights concerns of Afghans are two major challenges. It is all about reconciliation in the region and foreign ideology (Akhlaq 2018, p.1). Akhlaq argues that for the majority of the people in Afghanistan, the talk of human rights and democracy are first, just to destroy their traditions, values, and faith and secondly, an intention to serve political and economic agendas. Serious absence of honesty concerning human rights is evident. Akhlaq reminds us of the common saying in the country that women rights events are searching for liberty for the neighbour’s daughter meaning they do not use them inside their house for their families. If the prophets of human rights do not practice them, how will the people adopt them? Many activists have been swallowed by tribalism for they are accused of supporting people from their tribes and political parties (Akhlaq 2018, p.1).
The ouster of the Taliban regime was a wakeup call to the Afghans and the international actors on matters human rights. However, the processes are seen to have been misconstrued and only favour a few, perhaps the political elites.
Democracy
By the time of writing this study, it is clear that the international involvement in Afghanistan have not resulted in what anyone would expect. The previous engagement by ambassadors and policymakers after the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 seemed, in retrospection, unbelievably short-sighted. The occurrences ever since have left many of the citizens and observers wondering. The country has a government perceived by its citizens as predatory, an insurgency that is gripping many parts of the country and also failed development projects. Many questions remain unanswered. Who is to blame? According to Coburn and Larson after fraudulent and violence-plagued attempts to the polls, it is worth concluding that elections have not helped the country to be stable at all (Coburn and Larson 2014, p. 14).
However, Riphenburg argues that election is significant for determining the qualities of a political struggle (Riphenburg 2007, p. 3). She maintains that the accumulation of democratic establishments a country acquires is beneficial in the long run for the prospects of a new government since it is during such a time that they develop the rubrics of the political race. Riphenburg agrees that electoral process is the better way to grow a nation’s democracy, but cautions the impotence of not overestimating the power of elections in settling deeply-rooted enmities and bringing sanity to the democratic process.
When President Karzai took over office on December 22nd, 2001, he was leading a country but not a state. This was the best opportunity for the country and its new elites to enhance ethnic inclusion by ensuring fairness in recruitments (Adeney 2008, p. 536). However, the leaders the US had supported to overthrow the Taliban regime decided to withstand the new administration, but they frequently breached the authority as they deemed fit. There were impediments to democracy that continue to sit on the fragility of the country’s institutions. Such inhibitions include frequency of militia, utter poverty and illegal trafficking of drugs (Barnett 2004, p. 165-170). Afghanistan has undergone decades of war that has made it one of the poorest countries globally.
Afghanistan has many apparent political parties majorly shaped across ethnic orientations and has military wings. Religious, ethnic and territorial detachments are some of the major causes of the protracted violence and discrimination that has led to the destruction of the significant sections of the country. The new Constitution disallows formation of political parties along ethnic lines, and the parties are not allowed to have military wings as before. However, despite all these, the lack of government reach and inclusion outside Kabul, the fragmentations continue to face the country as ethnic groups exercise power in their localities.
Presidential elections
Afghans had a chance to vote in 2004 to elect a president who would have succeeded Hamiz Karzai. Karzai had been in the leadership since the fall of Taliban in 2001. The 2004 election was what can be regarded as the first democratic transfer of power. However, it is always challenging for Afghanistan elections that many people are not aware of the importance of elections or the right to vote.
The second election occurred on 20th August 2009 in which the incumbent Hamid Karzai, allegedly, won by around 49 percent defeating his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah who had 30 percent of the votes. However, the polls were flawed with massive fraud especially in the areas experiencing insurgency. After the four months of delaying the results due to electoral complaints and recount, Afghanistan Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) declared a run-off between Karzai and Abdullah. On November 1st, six days after the run-off date, Abdullah declared his withdrawal from the election citing inadequate actions to prevent deceit. The electoral commission, therefore, cancelled the rerun and named Karzai president and he was later sworn in on November 19th, 2009 (Boone and Trun 2009, p.1).
In 2014, there was yet another presidential election on 5th April. President Karzai was not eligible to run due to term limits. The two top contenders Dr. Abdullah Abullah and Dr. Ashraf Ghani once again were forced into a runoff after the first round resulted in none of them meeting the required 50 percent (Graham-Harrison 2014, p.1). Abdullah is mixed Tajik and Pashtun ethnicities but is more seen as a Tajik due to his earlier role in the Northern Alliance which was Tajik-dominated. Ghani, a Pashtun, is said to have won the second round of the elections which were held on 14th June same year with about 56 percent while Abdullah took about 43 percent of the votes. Again there were claims of election fraud leading to months of turmoil over the disputed election. However, this time around, the two candidates accepted to share power such that the losing Abdullah had considerable power in the regime (Nordland 2014, p.1).
Parliamentary elections
The first post-Taliban parliamentary elections in Afghanistan happened in 2005 after the presidential elections in 2004 while the second was in 2009. However, the third one was to occur in 2014 but was postponed due to the controversy and acrimony in the presidential elections. However, at the time of writing this project, the Independent Electoral Commission has since announced July 7th, 2018 as the new date for the parliamentary elections. The new electoral law adopted in 2004 establishes a 249-seat in the Lower House (Wolesi Jirga) which is elected directly in an election (Riphenburg 2007, p. 16). The parliamentary polls follow the Single Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV) structure such that voters cast a single ballot for a particular candidate but not a party. Every province gets represented in parliament as per their population estimation. The winner of parliamentary elections is on who gets the majority of the votes.
Female representatives have set aside seats. The lower House is supposed to have at least 28 percent females which sum up to two per province on average. Due to the poor education levels among Afghans, there is no set educational qualification for candidates running in parliamentary elections hence many people running for the position have low levels of education.
As the presidential elections, ethnicity is a factor in the parliamentary elections. Various ethnic minorities struggle to win more representation in parliament. For example, the 2005 elections saw President Karzai; a Pashtun fought for more seats for his tribal block. Abdullah Abdullah who was the runners-up accused the president of trying to tame parliament by getting more of his tribesmen. The government is capable of designating the number of seats for each province making it possible for a region with fewer people to get more sits than the one with many people anyway. Individuals with certain qualities characterize Afghanistan Parliament. It belongs to candidates who play their ethnic card well, the warlords and the losers in presidential elections.
Political Divisions among Ethnic Groups
Historical overview of the ethnic political divisions
The history of ethnic political division in Afghanistan began in the 18th
and 19th centuries. Various ethnic denominations used to categorise different communities was common historically. However, during those times, there was no accurate description to define a social segment. For instance, the words “Shiite” and “Hazara” were used to mean the same thing while “Tajik” described all non-Pashtun (Schetter 2005, p. 2). Later in the mid-20th
century, foreign actors started to divide the country systematically into categories depending on their culture, language and sectarianism (Schetter 2005, p. 2). For example, Tajik, was only to describe negatively people who never belonged to any group, but perhaps shared the tradition. However, according to the foreign actors, the group was a residual community of the Sunnite Persian-speaking rural and urban settlers whose common identity was the lack of a common past belief. Contemporarily, denominating ethnic categories using the foreigners’ formula is difficult. For example, Ismail Khan, the representative of Herat in 2005 was sometimes seen as a Tajik, Pashtun or Farsiwan. That means the standards set by the foreign academics is inconsistent with the realities.
Politicisation of ethnicity
It is evident that ethnicity question has risen to political relevance of the country. First, in the 19th century, the State was developed by two rival foreign powers –British India and Russia. The two rivals favoured different ethnic groups. For example, British India supported the Pashtuns who were dominant. Despite the fact that the state policy championed inclusion, it used ethnic patterns as a regulator of access to public resources and offices (Schetter 2005, p. 3). The Pashtuns were the most privileged in almost all sectors including the military. Schetter notes that the Tajiks has a significant presence in the economy and education sectors while Hazaras experienced marginalisation more often. The divisions were accompanied by stereotypes where the Pashtuns were called “bellicose,” Tajiks as “thrifty,” Uzbeks as “brutal” and Hazaras as “illiterate” (Schetter 2005, p.3).To date, there are elements of ethnic bias in Afghanistan government.
Even during the Bonn peace talks after the collapse of Taliban, ethnicity became a crucial matter in the strategy of reconstructing Afghanistan. The strategy by the international community was to build a well-balanced representation of the ethnicities within the transitional administration (Schetter 2005, p. 6). During the consensus, the top urgency was the multi-ethnic configuration of the new administration. Karzai was made the president of the transitional government. He was a potential unifying factor amid the divided political landscape (Qeyam 2012, p. 26). After the Bonn agreement, ethnicity rose again to determine political developments in Afghanistan. Ethnicity came to define every administrative and military position. The ethnicities in Afghanistan tend to be united when facing a common threat or fighting for the same goal, but gets back to division after achieving the goal (Barfield 2007, p. 59).
During Karzai’s regime, a Pashtun, many people perceived his government as that of the Tajiks because many of the Tajiks occupied almost all sectors (Schetter 2005, p.7). However, there was a new twist to the ethnic question. Schetter (2005) notes that the unequal distribution of resources and marginalisation is more of clientelism and family affiliations (p. 7). According to Schetter, there were clientelistic relationships between the political leaders who used family ties to acquire positions in government. The thirty-member cabinet of the Afghanistan Transitional Government (ATG) led by Hamid Karzai had eleven Pashtuns, eight Tajiks, five Hazara and 3 Uzbeks and other three came from other minorities (Siddique 2012, p. 5).
Power sharing in two recent elections
Afghans and the international actors have always hoped that elections held in the post-Taliban era would mean the beginning of a peaceful and democratic process and would further contribute to the consolidation of democracy in the subsequent days. However, every election since then has had a fair share of its challenges.
According to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Final Report Presidential and Provincial Council Elections (2009), the presidential election was hotly contested between incumbent Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah such that after an audit the candidates got 49 percent and 30 percent respectively (p. 46). The results led to a runoff announced by the electoral commission for 19th October 2009. However, Dr. Abdullah withdrew from the process few days to the runoff leading to the cancellation of the runoff and subsequently the declaration of Karzai as the winner. The decision brought questions of legitimacy of Karzai’s last term in government.
The 2014 election was equally contested however this time around it was Dr. Abdullah and Mr. Ashraf Ghani. Again there was a runoff after the two failed to meet the 50 percent plus one vote required constitutionally. After the contested runoff results, the country faced a political uncer
