Foreign Affairs

unhappycamper

(60,364 posts) Sat Jun 13, 2015, 06:56 AM Jun 2015

Fears of political vacuum in Afghanistan

http://www.dw.de/fears-of-political-vacuum-in-afghanistan/a-18513960

Afghan parliament's current term is set to end soon but the country's government has so far failed to set a date for fresh elections, raising concerns over a possible political vacuum. DW examines.

Fears of political vacuum in Afghanistan
Masood Saifullah
12.06.2015

There are growing worries of a fresh political crisis in the war-torn country as the five-year term of the nation's parliament is set to soon come to an end.

The Afghan government has yet to announce a date for fresh elections, triggering discussions among lawmakers and experts over the legitimacy of the South Asian nation's bicameral legislature after its term ends in less than two weeks from now.

According to Article 83 of the constitution, the mandate of the current Lower House of parliament expires on June 22 after the elections and the new assembly starts its work.

Although the parliamentary elections were originally planned for April this year, the government of President Ashraf Ghani failed to hold them due to a lack of agreement among various political factions in the country. As a result, Afghan people have not been able to elect a new parliament.

--

Fourteen years into our invasion/occupation and Afghanistan STILL does not have a functioning government.

1 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Fears of political vacuum in Afghanistan (Original Post) unhappycamper Jun 2015 OP

Taliban Overrun Police Base in Southern Afghanistan bemildred Jun 2015 #1

bemildred

(90,061 posts)

1. Taliban Overrun Police Base in Southern Afghanistan

Reply to unhappycamper (Original post)

Sat Jun 13, 2015, 07:32 AM

Jun 2015

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s police force took another severe blow from the Taliban on Saturday, as 17 police officers were killed in a clash with the insurgents in the southern province of Helmand, officials said.

The insurgents overran a police base near the center of the strategically important district of Musa Qala, the officials said. Local police officers and eyewitnesses described a large-scale attack that began after midnight and continued until daylight.

“There are also casualties to the Taliban but we do not know the figures,” said Omar Zwak, the spokesman for Helmand Province’s governor. “We are investigating how this happened.”

One police officer, stationed at a base near the one that came under attack, said the insurgents surrounded it and by dawn had completely destroyed it. Roads around the base, known as Takhtapol base, were planted with mines and booby traps, preventing its defenders from escaping and other officers from coming to their aid, the officer stationed at the nearby base said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/world/asia/taliban-police-base-southern-afghanistan.html?_r=0

Reply to this discussion