KABUL (Pajhwok): A number of Meshrano Jirga members on Sunday renewed their call for the government leaders to set a specific date for Wolesi Jirga and district council elections.
The legislators also demanded continued clearing operations in northeastern Kunduz province to keep it from being overrun by the Taliban yet again.
According to Article 83 of the constitution, members of the Wolesi Jirga shall be elected by the people through free, general, secret and direct balloting.
Tenure of the lower house ends after announcement of the results of the elections, on June 22 of the fifth year when a new parliament is supposed to embark on work.
The parliamentary elections will be held 30 to 60 days prior to the expiration of its term. The ballot, which should have been conducted in April or May, was delayed due to lack of funds.
President Ashraf Ghani, subsequently, extended the Wolesi Jirga on June 17 until the new election is conducted. But so far, no date has been announced for the vote, despite calls from MPs and others.
Mohammad Rahim Hasanyar, a senator from Ghazni province, asked the government to give a clear date for the elections. He said it was illegal for Wolesi Jirga members to continue workingin the current uncertain situation.
“People should know their way and the fate of the legislature. They are worried about the existing situation and announcement of the election date could give them a ray of hope,” the public representative remarked.
Another Meshrano Jirga member Juma Din Gayanwal also demanded the date of Wolesi Jirga and district council electionsbe announced as soon as possible to end the uncertainty.
Senate Chairman Fazal Hadi Muslimyar asked the government organs concerned to announce the election date and thereby put an end to the present legislative vacuum.
The public representatives also discussed the situation in Kunduz province, whose capital was overrun by the Taliban on September 25 after clashes with security forces. But the city was recaptured from the militants after a two-weeks clearing operation.
Abdullah Qarlaq, representing the Kunduz people in the upper house, said: “Problems in the province still persist, because militants are active in Dasht-I-Archi and Chahardara districts and some parts of Kunduz City. They may take control of the city again once clearing operations end.”
The lawmaker said Dasht-i-Archi district became a North Waziristan-like area -- Pakistan’s lawless tribal region -- after its fall to the insurgents five months ago.Qarlaqurged the security forces to purge the city of militants.
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