KABUL (PAN): Civil society organisations (CSOs) on Tuesday suggested amendments to a draft election law, calling for reserving one vice-presidential slot for women in next year’s ballot.
At a consultative meeting attended by 30 representatives of the civil society organisations, the CSOs said different numbers of voting centres in different provinces were unjust and urged the changes to the proposed law.
A member of the Movement of Afghan Sisters (MAS), Humaira Haqmal, insisted on women’s active participation in the election process. She said one of the vice-presidents should be a female.
On behalf of the movement, she called for political parties to strike a gender balance in nominating election candidates.
An official of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA), Asadullah Frozan, said they had prepared a draft electoral law that recommended at least one woman parliamentarian from each province.
The proposed law says 140 Wolesi Jirga seats be allocated for independent candidates and 100 for political parties. It stressed an independent and permanent electoral complaints commission.
