KABUL (Pajhwok): Election watchdog the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan(FFEFA) on Monday said the Wolesi Jirga speaker row should be addressed inside the house instead of looking for a solution outside the parliament.
About allegations of serious fraud in the Wolesi Jirga elections, FFEFA said narrow-minded tribal discussions had further complicated the lower house problem.
On May 16, lawmakers Mir Rahman Rahmani, Mirwais Yasini, Kamal Naser Osuli and Omar Nasir contested for the speaker post.
However, none could bag enough votes to become speaker of the house and the ballot went to a second round, which was deferred to May 19.
The second round of vote for the two candidates turned controversial and a solution yet to be sought.
Three parliamentary teams had been appointed by the lower house for solution of the issue, but none was able to solve the controversy.
Today’s Wolesi Jirga session, the 16th since the lower house was inaugurated in May, also concluded without any solution to the matter.
Farooq Wardak, State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, last Saturday had said that the government would refer the issue to the Supreme Court if the lower house failed to find a solution to it in two days.
However, Haseeb Mutarif, in charge of FFEFA observation office, expressed concern over sending the Wolesi Jirga problem outside the house while talking to a press conference here today.
“The crisis created in Wolesi Jirga is a legal and technical problem, it should be discussed patiently for a solution, referring the matter to outside would damage the position of the legislative pillar,” he said.
He said the Supreme Court would probably put the controversy over the speaker position to an end but it would also prove the poorness of the lower house in solving its own problems.
FFEFA in a statement said a parliament when could not respond to its internal issues would not be able to respond to the nation’s problems.
It said lawmakers have to respect the law and procedures and solve the Wolesi Jirga problem according to them. It suggested lawmakers of each constituency should vote for one of the representatives of their own region so a committee of 36 people was created for finding a solution to the problem.
The foundation said any decision the committee would make should be acceptable to all. The statement said FFEFA shared its suggestion with the Wolesi Jirga today.
The source said the Independent Election Commission (IEC), neutral observers and civil societyinstitutes should watch over the selection of members of the proposed committee and ensure transparency in the process.
FFEFA said figures from inside and outside the house should not be let approach the Wolesi Jirga problem from a tribal view.
mds/ma