Michael Hughes: Members of the Taliban and Afghan government are supposedly set to begin negotiations within the next two weeks but it is hard to imagine how they will overcome what appear to be irreconcilable differences over the very nature and structure of the country’s future political system. Taliban officials have openly stated they refuse to
1TV: Mir Rahman Rahmani was elected as speaker of Afghanistan’s lower house Wolesi Jirga on Saturday. 123 votes were needed for a candidate to win. Rahmani received 136 votes while his rival Khan Mohammad Wardak secured 96. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: On the third round of election over the seat of parliament speaker, none of the candidates were able to secure the fifty plus one vote. Sediq Ahmad Osmani, Khan Agha Rezaee, Khan Mohammad Wardak, and Abdul Sattar Hussaini were the four lawmakers who nominated themselves for the seat. “I promise that I will represent from
Tolo News: President Ashraf Ghani’s rival candidates on Tuesday once again challenged the legitimacy of the incumbent government and reiterated the call for the establishment of an interim government in the country so that the upcoming elections are held in a free and transparent way. “This government is illegitimate, its oppressor and corrupt. If the illegitimate tenure
Tolo News: After 35 days of turmoil over the election of new speaker for the parliament, lawmakers on Monday agreed on two new candidates to contest for the position of the speaker so that the current crisis in the house comes to an end. From 229 MPs present in the house on Monday, 120 of them
Ariana: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a presidential candidate, says that efforts are going on so that all or some of the presidential candidates agree on forming a single electoral ticket. He says that this measure will be taken to prevent the going of the presidential election to the second round. Moreover, Hekmatyar announces that his team is ready
1TV: Afghanistan’s lawmakers on Wednesday were engaged in yet another brawl amid a standoff over the appointment of a new speaker a month ago. The clash happened after supporters Mir Rahman Rahmani took him to the speaker’s seat. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: Presidential candidate Ibrahim Alokozai on Tuesday accused President Ashraf Ghani of “dictatorship, selfishness and egoism” in running the country’s affairs. “He [President Ghani] is like a ‘dictator’ and a ‘selfish’ individual who commits ‘illegal actions’ but implements the law on others,” said Alokozai. “At least 270 guards were assigned to one of his deputies, but
1TV: Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on Monday expressed hope that President Ashraf Ghani’s release of hundreds of Taliban prisoners is not an election campaign effort. Earlier this month, Ghani ordered release of 887 Taliban prisoners to mark Eid-al-Fitr that followed the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: Mir Rahman Rahmani, an MP from Parwan province, who was declared as the new speaker of Afghanistan’s parliament after controversial voting in May, vows not to step down from his post despite his critics say he has not secured the required votes for the post. On May 18, there were 247 MPs when the